HC: Society office-bearers not liable for short-circuit fire that killed 2

A single bench of Justice Milind Jadhav passed the order on Thursday while allowing petitions filed by the accused, who had approached the high court in 2022 seeking quashing of the FIR

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against the office-bearers of a Kandivali housing society in connection with a 2021 fire that killed two elderly women, ruling that they could not be held criminally liable for a blaze caused by a short circuit in the doorbell of a flat. The court also cleared the building’s builder and architect, noting that the building had received an occupation certificate in 2014.

HC: Society office-bearers not liable for short-circuit fire that killed 2

A single bench of Justice Milind Jadhav passed the order on Thursday while allowing petitions filed by the accused, who had approached the high court in 2022 seeking quashing of the FIR.

“Cause of action for the fire to occur in the present case is the short circuit occurred on the 14th floor door bell of a flat in the said building,” the court said, adding that holding then and earlier office bearers responsible for such incidents in respect of electrical wiring of the door bell of a particular flat would “lead to a disastrous situation.”

The court held that imposing criminal liability on the society office-bearers for a fire caused by the short circuit was “completely unsustainable”.

The incident took place on November 6, 2021, at Hansa Heritage building in Kandivali West, where two elderly women died. Following the fire, Kandivali police registered an FIR against the then and former chairman and secretaries of the housing society, besides the builder and architect.

The accused had approached the high court in 2022 for quashing the FIR. Justice Jadhav allowed their petitions on Thursday.

The court also quashed the proceedings against builder Tribhuvandas M Rughani and architect Sanjay Shah. The two had been booked mainly over allegations that the original sanctioned plans were amended and that a gate shown in an earlier plan was removed, which allegedly prevented fire brigade vehicles from reaching the building during the blaze.

Jadhav observed that it was common for building plans to be amended and noted that there was no allegation that the building was unauthorised, that its plans had not been sanctioned by the municipal corporation, or that it had been occupied without an occupation certificate.

The court noted that Hansa Heritage had received its occupation certificate in September, 2014. This, the judge said, prima facie showed that the concerned authorities had certified the building as fit for residential occupation. Therefore, the court held that no criminal liability could be fixed on the builder or architect either.