Morbi bridge collapse: SC to hear plea on Nov 14 seeking judicial probe

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea on November 14 seeking the constitution of a judicial commission to investigate the Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat,

The plea was mentioned by advocate Vishal Tiwari before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit.

The Chief Justice told the advocate, "You are very quick. What are your prayers". The lawyer replied that he was seeking a judicial enquiry commission and pointed out that there were several old structures in many states. After hearing brief submissions, the top court agreed to examine the plea on November 14.

The Morbi bridge collapsed on October 30 resulting in 141 deaths.

The plea said the incident showed the negligence and utter failure of the government authorities. It further added that in the past decade various incidents have taken place in the country due to the mismanagement, lapse in duty, and negligent maintenance activities.

The 141-year-old suspension bridge over the Machchhu River collapsed after it was reopened just last week following repairs and maintenance by a private operator.

The plea contended that at the time of collapse, the bridge had several hundred people on it which was over the permissible limit and no fitness certificate was taken by the private operator before reopening the bridge.

The plea said this was an utter dreadful act of violation of human rights that is the breach of right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution and urged the top court to issue directions to all states to form committees to conduct risk assessment of all old and risky monuments, bridges, etc.