Bombay High Court grants bail to owner of Bhiwandi building which collapsed last year causing 8 deaths
In April last year, a building in the Bhiwandi area of Thane district had collapsed, trapping several people under the debris.
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A single-judge bench of Justice N J Jamadar passed an order on April 30 on Patil's bail application, a copy of which was made available on Friday night. (File)The Bombay High Court recently granted bail to the owner of the building that collapsed in Bhiwandi last year causing eight deaths. He was booked for charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 of IPC. The bench noted that the probe seemed to be complete for all intent and purpose and possibility of him tampering with evidence was remote, and hence can be released on bail.
In April last year, a building in the Bhiwandi area of Thane district had collapsed, trapping several people under the debris. The police had on April 30, 2023 arrested bail applicant Indrapal Gurunath Patil, owner of the land on which the building stood and after completion of probe, a chargesheet was filed in the case.
A single-judge bench of Justice N J Jamadar passed an order on April 30 on Patil’s bail application, a copy of which was made available on Friday night. Patil had allegedly constructed a three-storey building without permission of the planning authority and had allegedly permitted a telecom company to erect a mobile tower without considering the structural stability of the said building to bear tower’s weight.
Advocates Sana Raees Khan, Aditya Parmar and Gazala Dalvi for Patil denied his role in the building collapse and argued that the building was constructed with prior permission from local gram panchayat of Val village and a mobile tower was erected on the terrace after obtaining a due stability certificate from a structural engineer.
The lawyers submitted that the inquiry conducted by the government revealed that the building collapsed as excess goods were stored in it beyond its capacity, for which the applicant was not responsible.
The gram panchayat informed police that it had granted permission to construct a building of ground plus two floors in June, 2007. The HC observed that the mobile tower was erected in 2017 after a structural engineer had granted certificate that the building was stable to bear its weight.
The court also noted that whether residents’ allegation against the applicant of not carrying out repairs and maintenance work would fall under Section 304 of IPC is ‘debatable.’
It added whether the applicant had the intention or knowledge to cause the death of victims and would be decided during the trial.
“Undoubtedly, the building collapsed and resulted in the death of 8 persons. Thirteen persons sustained injuries. Nonetheless, the aspect of the complicity of the applicant deserves to be taken into account. Investigation seems to be complete for all intent and purpose,” the bench noted while granting bail.
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