The Gujarat High Court has directed the State government to establish a fact-finding committee to investigate the May 24 fire incident at a gaming zone in Rajkot and to scrutinize the inaction of senior officers of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi emphasized the need for a thorough investigation, ensuring that no negligent official goes unpunished.
“All aspects of dereliction of duties or inaction on the part of the officers of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation shall be brought to light,” the Court ordered.
The Court also called for an inquiry into the functioning of all municipal corporations in the State, citing other recent tragedies such as the Morbi bridge collapse and the Harni Lake boat tragedy.
“These repeated incidents show that public places managed by the Corporations, and amusement venues with significant public footfall, have been kept unsafe for human lives due to dereliction in duty or inaction by institutional heads,” stated the order dated June 13.
Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi
Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi
The Court further instructed the State to conduct physical inspections of schools (both State-run and private) catering to students between 3 and 14 years of age to ensure fire safety measures are in place and that building permissions are compliant.
Reports on these inspections must be submitted to the Court within one month.
“In order to facilitate the fact-finding inquiry into the fire incident at TRP gaming zone, Rajkot as directed earlier, both matters are posted on July 4, 2024,” the Court added.
The Principal Secretary of the State Urban Development and Urban Housing Department has been ordered to file a personal affidavit to include the inquiry report on record.
On May 26, the High Court took suo motu cognizance of the Rajkot fire incident that resulted in 27 fatalities.
The Court expressed shock at reports suggesting that the gaming zone might have exploited loopholes in the Gujarat Comprehensive General Development Control Regulations (CGDCR) to create illegal structures for recreational activities.
Reports indicated that the gaming zone had constructed temporary tin structures to circumvent technicalities in obtaining permissions.
Additionally, the Court noted that such gaming zones have emerged not only in Rajkot but also in Ahmedabad, posing significant public safety threats.
The Court had previously concluded that the disaster appeared to be man-made and sought responses from the municipal corporations of Surat, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, and Baroda regarding the legal provisions under which these gaming zones and recreational facilities were allowed to operate or continue.
On June 13, after reviewing an affidavit filed by the Rajkot Municipal Corporation, the Court found that the owners or occupiers of the building housing the Rajkot gaming zone had not obtained building use permission.
It was observed that the gaming zone began operations with only the permission granted by the police under Section 33(x) of the Gujarat Police Act, 1951, which regulates the sale of tickets or passes for admission to public amusement places.
The Court also noted that despite an application for regularizing the structure under the Gujarat Regularization of Unauthorised Development Act (GRUDA), no action had been taken.
The Court concluded that municipal officials had failed to perform their duties properly.
“From the above, it is evident that the Municipal Commissioners of Rajkot Municipal Corporation, who were in charge during the erection and use of the building-in-question, i.e., the TRP gaming zone, failed to ensure that no unauthorized structure is occupied or permitted to be used without proper building use permission following structural and fire safety norms,” the Court said.
Citing the lack of a fact-finding inquiry by the State to identify responsible officers, the Court ordered the Principal Secretary of the Urban Development and Urban Housing Department to form a high-level committee of three senior officers to conduct an inquiry.
This committee is tasked with identifying the faults of the erring officers of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation, including municipal commissioners who served from the date the first pillar of the gaming zone was installed until the date of the fire incident.
The matter is scheduled for further hearing on July 4.
Advocate D.M. Devnani assisted the Court as amicus curiae.
Advocate General Kamal Trivedi, Additional AG Manisha Lavkumar, and Additional Government Pleader Vinay Bairaga appeared for the State government.
