SC to hear PIL for judicial probe on Morbi bridge collapse on Nov 14

The Supreme Court today agreed to hear on November 14 a PIL seeking direction to appoint a judicial commission under the supervision of the retired top court judge to initiate a probe on the Morbi Bridge collapse incident.

A bench of Chief Justice of India UU Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi posted the matter for hearing on November 14 after the advocate who filed the petition mentioned it for urgent hearing.

The plea filed by the lawyer sought directions to the State governments to form a committee to survey and conduct an assessment risk of old and risky monuments and bridges to ensure environmental viability and safety.

It further sought directions for permanent disaster probe teams in the states who would promptly attend to such tragedies.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat Police have filed a First Information Report under IPC sections 304 and 308 in the bridge collapse tragedy.

The Gujarat government has also constituted a five-member committee to probe the bridge collapse incident.

Moreover, according to the latest reports, the death toll in the collapse of the British-era bridge on Sunday on the Machchu river in Morbi in Gujarat has gone up to 134 people.

The bridge, which underwent a six-month-long renovation and was reopened for the public on October 26, was carrying 400-500 people at the time of the accident – thrice its capacity.