The Supreme Court has issued notice to the state of Gujarat and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a plea filed by the relatives of victims of the October 2022 Morbi bridge tragedy, seeking CBI investigation in the case and expressing “loss of faith” in the investigation carried out by the Gujarat police so far.
On April 17, the division bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Rajesh Bindal issued notice to the state of Gujarat, Commissioner of Municipalities, Morbi Municipality, Morbi District Collector, Ajanta Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd. as well as the CBI, after the Petitioner-Association, comprising family members of 112 victims, moved the SC through their advocate Utkarsh Dave.
In the petition, the victims have prayed that they have been compelled to move the SC as the investigation into the Morbi tragedy conducted by the Gujarat police so far “prima facie appears to be biased” and “transfer (of investigation) is required to instill confidence of the people”.
The petition of the Morbi victims before the SC stated, “It is submitted that the collapse of the bridge was a direct result of conscious acts and omissions of the Morbi Nagarpalika, the Morbi Collector, and the contractor company (Ajanta/Oreva Group), which invited people onto the bridge through a public announcement after allegedly ‘repairing’ it.”
It further said, “An FIR was registered in the case on October 30, 2022, followed by a chargesheet on January 23, 2023, and a Supplementary Chargesheet on March 7, 2023. However, a perusal of these documents would reveal that the State police has deliberately tried to help all the accused persons of the contractor company and has chosen not to implicate a single official from the Morbi Municipality or the Collectorate, thereby letting high-ranking State officials go scot-free.”
Submitting that the Petitioner-Association “has no faith in the State Police in view of the shoddy nature of investigation and chargesheet filed by it”, the petition stated, “Hence, the Petitioner prays for transfer of the investigation to an independent investigating agency other than the State police, such as the Central Bureau of Investigation.”
According to the petition, the SC had, while disposing of a Special Leave Petition challenging a Gujarat HC order of October 2024, in January this year, passed a direction that the petitioners could file a fresh Writ Petition under Article 32 of the Constitution. “The Gujarat HC had dismissed an application in an ongoing suo motu PIL before the HC seeking transfer of investigation to the CBI… The FIR and chargesheets would show that the only persons accused are employees of the contractor company, Ajanta/Oreva Group. Not a single official from the Morbi Nagarpalika, nor the Morbi Collector, is arraigned as accused despite glaring facts…” the petition said.
The petition noted that since 2008, Ajanta Manufacturing Ltd. (Oreva Group) had been engaged to oversee the maintenance and operation of the bridge that was constructed in 1860. It said, “Ajanta is a clock-manufacturing company and has no prior experience of maintaining bridges… The said contract expired on June 15, 2017, after which it was not renewed until March 7, 2022, even though Ajanta continued to operate the bridge and collect revenue from ticket prices…” the petition stated. It further added that the District Collector, officials of the Morbi Municipality, despite being “well aware of the precarious condition of the bridge, did not take active steps to renew the MoU”.
The petition stated that the renewed MoU on March 7, 2022, included a clause that “no state authority would interfere in the administrative operation of the bridge”. However, “this abdication of duty on part of the Collector and Municipality is inexplicable”, it added.
The petition has also drawn attention to the fact that as per the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the repair works were to be completed in 8 to 12 months but the Managing Director of Ajanta “made a public announcement on October 26, 2022, that the bridge is now open to the public”.
The petition stated, “Neither the Morbi Collector nor the officials of the Morbi Nagarpalika took any step to carry out safety checks, load testing or structural testing of the bridge before allowing the public to walk on it… The Collector has not even been investigated by the Investigating Officer to understand the role of high-ranking officials in this entire transaction which smacks of corruption and lethargy… the Collector never furnished documents sought by the IO and the IO never recorded the statement of the Collector (this) shows that the investigation has been influenced and has not been conducted in a fair and impartial manner…”
The petition also stated that the chargesheet submitted by the SIT “has not investigated even the most basic elements” and names 370 witnesses “with a deliberate view to delay the trial”. The petition said, “Out of the 370 witnesses named in the chargesheets, 155 are relatives of deceased persons who have been included only to prove the factum of the death…In fact, the incident and all the deaths can be proved through a single testimony by the IO. Even judicial notice can be taken of the said fact, which is in public knowledge and based on official records. The approach of the State police shows a deliberate attempt to delay the trial and aid the accused.”