A plea is listed in the Supreme Curt for hearing on Monday for setting up a judicial commission to probe the case of Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat which claimed nearly 140 lives.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli will hear the PIL filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, The PIL seeks a judicial commission under the chairmanship of a retired judge of the apex court contending that the accident showed the negligence and utter failure of the authorities.
On November 1, Tiwari had mentioned the matter for urgent listing, and the top court had said it would take up the matter soon.
“From the past decade, various incidents have taken place in our country wherein due to the mismanagement, lapse in duty, and negligent maintenance activities, there have been cases of huge public casualties which could have been avoided,” Tiwari has said in his PIL. The more than a century-old bridge, located around 300 km from state capital Gandhinagar, had reopened five days back after extensive repairs and renovation. It was crammed with people when it collapsed around 6.30 pm on October 30.
The plea has sought directions to the states to form a committee to survey and conduct assessment risk of old and risky monuments and bridges to ensure environmental viability and safety.
It has also sought a direction to the states to constitute a construction incident investigation department so that fast and prompt probes can be done whenever such incidents occur.
The plea said such departments should also enquire about the quality and safety of any public construction taking place.
It claimed that the authorities in Gujarat also failed to control tourists, and it has been reported that over 500 people were on the bridge at the time of the incident.
“The incident at Morbi has shocked country wherein due to utter lapse and negligence on part of government authorities along with the negligence and fault in duty by the private operator has resulted in severe violation of fundamental rights of the people under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” it alleged.
The plea said several old bridges and monuments, which attract a large number of tourists, are there in the country and their assessment risk needs to be looked into to avoid such public casualty