Gujarat HC rejects Oreva MD’s bail petition in Morbi bridge collapse case
The Gujarat high court rejected the bail application of Jaysukh Patel, the managing director of Oreva Group and prime accused in the Morbi bridge collapse case. Patel has been in jail since his surrender in January.
The Gujarat high court on Tuesday rejected the bail application of Jaysukh Patel, the managing director of Oreva Group and prime accused in the Morbi bridge collapse case that killed 135 people last year. Patel has been in jail since his surrender in January .
Justice Divyesh Joshi dismissed Patel’s bail plea on Tuesday, days after the state government did not oppose it and left the decision to the judiciary’s discretion.
On December 13, additional advocate general Mitesh Amin told the court that there was little possibility of Patel fleeing, citing his status as a businessman.
An association of the victims’ relatives, however, expressed their anguish last week over the stance and demanded Amin’s removal from proceedings of the case in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief minister Bhupendra Patel, and the high court chief justice.
The letter added that Amin’s arguments appeared to align with the state government’s stance. The relatives wrote that they felt it was in “stark contradiction” to the promises made by the state soon after the accident.
Six of the 10 people accused of culpable homicide in the case have been granted bail. In April, a Morbi court rejected Patel’s bail.
The Oreva Group held the contract to maintain, repair and renovate a suspension bridge in Morbi, which collapsed on October 30, 2022, leaving 135 dead. A total of 10 people, including Patel, have been accused in the case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304), attempt to commit culpable homicide (Section 308), acts endangering human life (Section 336), causing hurt by rash or negligent acts (Section 337), and causing grievous hurt by rash or negligent acts (Section 338).
A Gujarat government-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) held Oreva’s management, including Patel and Morbi municipality’s chief officer, responsible for the collapse. It highlighted the company’s operational and technical lapses as well as its “lackadaisical approach”.
The report criticised the renewal of the agreement with the company and identified design flaws in the bridge renovation. It blamed administrative lapses and technical incompetence for the tragedy.
Oreva Group, which specialises in making clocks, home appliances, and e-bikes, was in March 2022 given the contract to repair, renovate, maintain, and operate the bridge originally built in 1879.
Patel, who faces charges of culpable homicide, and his family opened the bridge to the public on October 26 last year after a renovation process, allegedly without informing the Morbi municipality. Three days later, the bridge collapsed, raising questions about the quality of the repairs.