SC refuses to cancel bail of key accused in 2022 Morbi bridge collapse case

New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with an order passed by the Gujarat High Court granting bail to a key accused in the 2022 Morbi bridge collapse incident in which 135 people died.

A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and S.V.N. Bhatti dismissed the plea filed by a tragedy victims association challenging the grant of bail to Dineshkumar Dave, a manager of the Oreva company which was responsible for the bridge’s operation and maintenance.

In an order in November 2023, the High Court had allowed the successive bail application by the accused saying that Dave was following the instructions of the Managing Director of the company and was not involved in the decision making process.

However, the bench of Justice Nirzar S. Desai had ordered Dave to “not enter into Rajkot and Morbi districts till the trial is over without prior permission of the Sessions Judge except for attending the court proceedings”.

In a report filed before the High Court, the Special Investigation Team indicted Dave and other key personnel of the company of bearing direct accountability for the incident.