Kamala Mills fire: Bombay high court to soon finalise members of panel investigating blaze

A PIL filed by former Mumbai police commissioner Julio Ribeiro, sought a comprehensive fire safety audit of every eatery in the city

On March 19, the Bombay high court is likely to finalise the members of a panel that will probe the Kamala Mills fire, in which 14 were killed.

The blaze at Kamala Mills killed 14 and injured 55. (HT FILE)

Special counsel for the government, senior advocate Amit Naik, submitted the names of retired high court judges, architects and town planning experts, who will be considered for the three-member panel, in a sealed envelope on Friday.

The names were submitted pursuant to the high court’s February 17 order, which directed the Maharashtra government to constitute a three-member committee headed by a retired high court judge, to look into the “genesis of the unfortunate incident at Kamala Mills compound,” the people responsible for the incident and to suggest changes in licensing conditions to avoid such tragedies.

Naik said the scope of the committee’s probe can be widened to cover the causes of the fire. He was responding to two public interest litigations (PILs) concerning the fire at two rooftop eateries inside the Kamala Mills compound on December 29.

One of the PILs, filed by former city police commissioner Julio Ribeiro, sought a comprehensive fire safety audit of every eatery in Mumbai and the formation of a special investigation team to investigate the FIR registered with the NM Joshi Marg police station in connection with the fire. The retired IPS officer has also sought the setting up of a judicial commission to inquire into the illegalities at the Kamala Mill compound, and hold errant civic officials responsible.

A division bench of justice Shantanu Kemkar and justice Makrand Kulkarni posted the PILs for further hearing on March 19. They have directed Naik to submit the terms of reference to the court and to share a copy with advocate Ashish Mehta, who represents Rebeiro.