Sculptor Granted Bail by Bombay HC in Statue Collapse Case

Sculptor Jaydeep Apte was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in connection with the collapse of a 28-foot statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Malvan. The statue, which fell on August 26, 2024, had been inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 4, 2023, and was built at a cost of ₹2.44 crore.

The bail was approved by Justice N.R. Borkar after a personal bond of ₹25,000 was furnished by Apte. Earlier, the sessions court in Oros had rejected his bail plea on October 1, prompting the sculptor to approach the High Court. The statue, erected at Rajkot Fort in Malvan on a 12-foot pedestal, had collapsed within nine months of its unveiling. Following the incident, an FIR was lodged by Public Works Department (PWD) officials under the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. Apte, a graduate of JJ School of Arts with a Diploma in Sculpting and Modelling, had surrendered to the police and was placed in judicial custody.

The collapse was attributed by Apte to gusty winds. Through his lawyer, Ganesh Sovani, it was argued that no injuries had occurred, framing the incident as a case of negligence rather than a serious offense. It was also emphasized that the FIR had been filed by PWD officials, who reportedly lacked the technical expertise to assess the metallurgy involved. The statue had been constructed under a work order issued by the Naval Dockyard in September 2023, with no complaints regarding its design or quality raised by the issuing authority. The petition further highlighted that the pedestal had remained intact during the collapse and that rusted nuts and bolts, noted during a PWD inspection six days prior, were likely to have contributed to the incident.

Attention was also drawn to the arrest of Dr. Chetan Patil, who was involved in the pedestal's construction and stability analysis. Patil had been granted bail earlier by the High Court, which observed that his role was limited to providing a stability report for the pedestal and that he had not been involved in the statue’s structural design. The High Court, while granting bail to Apte, considered the lack of injuries and the negligence angle. The incident has raised questions regarding the materials and methods used in securing the statue.