Morbi: A court in Gujarat's Morbi town on Saturday rejected the regular bail plea of Jaysukh Patel, managing director of Oreva Group, in the case pertaining to last year's suspension bridge collapse that killed 135 persons. Oreva Group was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the British-era suspension bridge that collapsed on October 30 last year, killing 135 and leaving 56 others grievously injured.
While rejecting the bail plea, principal district and sessions judge P C Joshi observed Patel played an active role in the events that led to the tragedy. The court said Oreva Group had subcontracted the renovation work of the bridge to a firm that did not have the requisite technical knowledge, and no trial or expert advice was taken before the structure was thrown open to the public, lawyer for the victims NR Jadeja told reporters.
The state government and family members of the victims had opposed Patel's bail application, filed a few weeks after the court rejected his interim bail that he had sought in order to pay compensation to the victims as per the Gujarat High Court's directions. Patel has been shown as the main accused in the chargesheet filed by the special investigation team (SIT) probing the case.
The bail pleas of other accused were earlier rejected by the same court. The SIT had filed a supplementary chargesheet against Patel on March 10, and the case was then committed (transferred) to the sessions court for trial against him and nine other accused. The SIT had on January 27 filed a chargesheet against the nine accused arrested earlier in the case. Patel was at the time shown as a fugitive. He later surrendered before a court and was arrested on January 31.
The accused have been booked under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 336 (act which endangers human life), 337 (causing hurt to any person by doing any rash or negligent act) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by doing rash or negligent act) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). (PTI)
