Emphasising that institutional heads, including municipal commissioners, are responsible for everything that goes on at the institution, the Gujarat High Court Thursday directed the state government to constitute an independent fact-finding committee to inquire into the role of erring higher officials in the Rajkot fire incident that killed 27 people. The court also instructed the education department to carry out inspections at all categories of schools — pre-primary, primary, secondary and higher secondary — across all districts in both city and rural areas within a month from Thursday (June 13). Recounting the Morbi bridge collapse, Harni lake boat capsize in Vadodara and the gamezone fire, the division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi minced no words to remark that the “inefficiency in the department (urban development and urban housing department [UDD]) is writ large on the face of the record”. Hearing the suo motu public interest litigation instituted following the Rajkot blaze, CJ Agarwal observed that top officers, who are at the helm of affairs, had even attended the inauguration of the gaming zone. “The top ones (officials) have to go (be removed) and then an inquiry has to be conducted by the urban development department. The SIT (Special Investigation Team) report can only be with regard to the incident. There has to be a disciplinary inquiry and for disciplinary inquiry, there has to be a fact finding inquiry (to find) as to who was at fault," she verbally remarked, adding, "We are not going to believe they were not aware.. If secretary UDD says in the fact-finding inquiry report that they were not aware, then we will see." Directing that the fact-finding committee must be constituted by June 16, the court added that the independent panel’s inquiry report must be completed by July 4. The court will take up the matter next on July 4. Referring to the Morbi, Harni and Rajkot accidents that happened in quick succession, the court emphasised that the local bodies were not discharging their duties. "One thing is very clear from the three incidents that have occurred in the recent past in Gujarat — these municipal corporations are not discharging their duties. In all three incidents, this was very visible. Municipal commissioner cannot say I was not aware. Each and every arraigned official has to be named in the inquiry and accountability has to be fixed after conducting a departmental inquiry. nothing less than that," CJ Agarwal said. She also directed the UDD secretary to carry out a fact-finding inquiry into the functioning of the three corporations. "And not a single officer will be spared," she stated. The Chief Justice underscored that the SIT into the Rajkot accident was not a departmental authority and hence, the need for a high-level fact-finding committee. "It will only give a fact-finding inquiry on the running of the gaming zone. Every departmental authority has to see whether its department is working efficiently or not. Inefficiency in the department is writ large on the face of the record,” the Chief Justice added. The court was also not impressed when Advocate General Kamal Trivedi, on behalf of the state, pointed out that nine officials have been arrested so far in the Rajkot case. “But they are town-planning officers. (the arrests have been made) without even making any fact-finding inquiry as to whether any higher official was responsible or not. You are sacking the smaller fish in the pond, the big fish who were present at the inaugural function, where are they? Why have you not tapped them? Why have you not put any responsibility on them? How could they go to a place if that place is not constructed in accordance with the law," CJ Agarwal went on to remark. She also questioned why the officials were quiet despite being aware of TRP Game Zone. "If there was one room and it was illegal at the time of inauguration, you cannot stop the owner from constructing another 10 rooms. With your presence at the inaugural function, you've given him licence that 'look I’m there, whatever you want to do, do it’. this construction cannot be put up overnight. you have a team and the team leader is always responsible for everything. everything should come in black and white, nothing less than that," she said. Meanwhile, advocate Amit Panchal pointed out to the court that the government was yet to provide details of buildings with valid fire NOCs and building use permission across the state as on Thursday. The court instructed the government to collate that data as well.
