Bhiwandi building collapse case: HC grants bail to the building owner after a year

The High Court has granted bail to the owner of the building who was arrested in connection with the collapse of a three-storey building in Bhiwandi last year. Eight people died and 13 were injured in this accident. Whether the owner can be booked under the charge of culpable homicide or not is a matter of obvious debate. Also, the issue of whether the owner was responsible for the collapse of the building and the death of the victims will also be decided during the trial, the single bench of Justice Nizamuddin Jamadar while giving relief to the owner of the building mainly mentioned.

On April 29 last year, a three-storied building in the Vardhaman complex at Valpada in Bhiwandi taluka collapsed at around 1 pm. In this case, a case of culpable homicide was registered against the owner of the building, Indrapal Patil, and he was arrested the next day. The petitioner has alleged that the building was constructed without taking any permission from the planning authority. The ground floor and first floor of the building were given to MRK Food for storage. There were 12 and 13 houses on the second and third floors respectively. Police allege that Patil allowed a telecom company to construct a mobile tower on the building without considering the structural stability of the building. Besides, Patil did not carry out necessary repairs and proper maintenance of the building. The police had opposed granting bail to Patil, claiming that a witness had claimed that the building had collapsed.

On the other hand, the owner has no role in the collapse of the building. The building was constructed with the prior permission of Valpada Gram Panchayat. Also, a claim was made on behalf of Patil that a mobile tower was also installed on the roof of the building after obtaining the stability certificate of the building from the construction engineer. At the same time, an inquiry by the state government has revealed that the building collapsed due to storage of goods beyond its capacity. Therefore, a bail was sought for Patil claiming that he cannot be held responsible for the accident.