[3] Two restaurants located in the upper floors of the Trade Housing Building, 1 Above and Mojo's Pub, had been licensed by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai to use one-third of the rooftop space, with the remaining two-thirds to be reserved as an open area.
The fire began at 00:22 IST on 29 December 2017, in a bar called 1 Above, which was located on the rooftop of the three-storey Trade House Building in the Kamala Mills Compound.
[1] Thirteen were found dead on the scene of the fire, and one person died in the hospital of injuries relating to carbon monoxide inhalation.
[10] All fourteen were located by fire fighters, trapped inside washroom stalls, without any burn injuries, suggesting that the deaths were due to smoke inhalation.
[15] Initial reports suggested the fire broke out in a rooftop restobar, 1 Above, and rapidly spread to next door pub Mojo's Bistro,[16][17] and may have been caused by a short circuit.
[18] Initial statements from the Mumbai Police also indicated that 1 Above did not have permission to function on the roof top, and had illegally constructed several structures there, including a toilet.
[20] This was confirmed in the technical investigation report, which also found that the only emergency exit from the rooftop was locked, and had been further obstructed by stacks of beer kegs, which later exploded during the fire.
[14] The technical investigation report also found that neither 1 Above nor Mojo's Pub had been able to produce the licenses and permissions needed to provide hookahs, serve alcohol, or food, on the rooftop.
[21] The Commissioner's detailed investigation report was filed with the state government of Maharashtra, and found 12 MCGM officials, including the 5 already suspended, to be guilty of misconduct.
[21] Two senior officials, the assistant municipal commissioner of G South Ward, Prashant Sapkale and his predecessor, Bhagyashree Kapse, were found guilty of failing to conduct adequate supervision over licensing and regulation.
[2] In 2019, data obtained under the Right to Information Act 2005 revealed that the MCGM had failed to take disciplinary action against those identified by their internal investigation in the Kamala Mills fire.
[24] Abhijeet Mankar, the who owned Sigrid Hospitalia, the parent company of 1 Above, were to be investigated for the offences of causing hurt by endangering lives, and culpable homicide not amounting to murder, under the Indian Penal Code.
[36] In 2018, Julio Ribeiro, a former police commissioner in the Mumbai Police, filed a Public Interest Litigation petition in the Mumbai High Court, asking the High Court to constitute a judicial inquiry into the causes of the Kamala Mills fire, including the licensing and regulation of the two restaurants where the fire broke out, by the MCGM.
[37] The Bombay High Court ordered the constitution of a three-member panel to conduct such an investigation, consisting of a retired judge, A V Savant, an architect, Vasant Thakur, and former municipal commissioner K Nalinakshan.
[39] The panel found that the owner of the Kamala Mills land had breached regulations by illegally constructing commercial spaces for lease, in violation of the permitted development of FSI.
[39] In addition to breaches by the owner of the land, the panel found that the two restaurants, 1 Above and Mojo's Pub, were functioning in violation of several building and fire safety norms established by the MCGM.
[40] The High Court Panel criticised the MCGM and State Government for granting permissions without adequate checks and balances under programs aimed at improving the ease of doing business in Maharashtra.