The Supreme Court on Monday said that there would be a need for weekly monitoring of the Morbi bridge collapse incident and asked the Gujarat High Court to take up the matter from time to time. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli was hearing two petitions seeking probe into criminal wrongdoing in the Morbi tragedy.
The bench termed it a ‘colossal tragedy’ and said it required weekly monitoring to see whether the contract was awarded, creditworthiness of the party awarded the contract, and fixing of responsibility for the guilty. The bench orally observed that the High Court has taken charge, otherwise it would have issued notice.
The petitions in the apex court sought probe into the criminal wrongdoing, fixing of responsibility against the officials of the municipality and holding accountable the agency responsible for the maintenance of the bridge.
The court said, “140 have died, out of which 47 are children. Several aspects of the matter would require reference from time to time and so that the High Court may be apprised of the precedents… We the High Court request to consider it from time to time. , according to Bar and Bench.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the families of the victims, said an independent probe by the state was needed to bring out the truth. He also said that holding those responsible is all the more important as elections are round the corner.
The lawyer argued that the compensation given to these families was not adequate. He said that players are given Rs 10-15 crore but nothing was given here.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that since the Gujarat High Court has taken up a case on the incident, there is no need for the apex court to entertain petitions on the matter. The Supreme Court permitted the petitioners to approach the High Court and intervene in the pending petition.
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