Morbi bridge collapse: Gujarat HC takes suo motu cognisance, seeks status report from govt, SHRC

The bench impleaded six respondent parties to the litigation – the chief secretary, the Gujarat home department, the urban development department, the Morbi municipality, the district collector and the SHRC.

3 min readAhmedabadUpdated: Nov 8, 2022 01:51 AM IST

The court instructed the Gujarat chief secretary and the home department secretary to file its “status report” with respect to the incident in a week’s time. The bench also directed the SHRC that it “shall also file a report in this regard by next date of hearing.” (File)

TAKING SUO motu cognizance of the Morbi bridge collapse, the Gujarat High Court on Monday issued notices to the state government and local authorities and also sought a status report in the matter by November 14.

The suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi collapsed on October 30, killing 135 people including 55 children.

Taking it up as the first matter as the court reopened after the Diwali vacation, a division bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Shastri said: “We have taken suo motu cognizance of the Morbi incident. But for the vacation, we would have sat on the same day itself.” At the start of the proceedings, the bench observed a two-minute silence for those who died in Morbi.

The bench took cognizance of the incident on the basis of newspaper reports on October 31. “…On account of the courts having been closed due to Diwali vacations, telephonic instruction was issued to the registrar (judicial) to treat the said article as suo motu PIL by registering it accordingly, after necessary formalities,” Chief Justice Kumar said while dictating the order.

The bench impleaded six respondent parties: the chief secretary, state home department through its home secretary, urban development department through the commissioner of municipalities, Morbi municipality, Morbi district collector and the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC).

The court directed the chief secretary and the home secretary to file a “status report” by November 14, when the matter will come up for hearing. The SHRC “shall also file a report in this regard by next date of hearing,” it said.

The bridge collapsed just days after its reopening on October 26. It was closed for seven months for repair after the Morbi municipality signed a 15-year contract with Ajanta Manufacturing Pvt Ltd, a part of Oreva Group, in March this year.

Story continues below this ad

Nine persons – two managers of the Oreva Group, two contractors engaged by Oreva to restore the bridge, two ticketing clerks and three security guards – have been arrested for culpable homicide (not amounting to murder) apart from other sections of the IPC.

The chief officer of Morbi municipality, Sandeepsinh Zala, who had said that the civic body had not done a safety audit as it was not aware of the reopening of the bridge, has since been suspended.

Sohini Ghosh

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Loading Taboola...