Rajkot gaming zone fire | ‘Did not see any feeling of remorse…’: HC asks two ex-RMC chiefs to file personal affidavits

The bid stated, “All the affidavits filed earlier america from July 2024 onwards are of the tenor that successful nary eventuality, the Municipal Commissioner of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) posted astatine the applicable constituent of clip tin beryllium said to beryllium held liable of dereliction of their duties and responsibilities, which was duly exercised arsenic portion of their supervisory relation and power implicit his officers.”

The tribunal further said, “There is nary look of feeling of remorse oregon immoderate assurance to the Court that, successful case, the past Municipal Commissioners had exercised their supervisory powers diligently and were alerted astir the TRP Gaming Zone…having been tally for a play of 2 years, specified a ghastly incident…could person been avoided.”

The seat of Chief Justice Sunita Agrawal and Justice Pranav Trivedi was proceeding a suo motu nationalist involvement litigation (PIL) initiated aft the incident, and different PIL filed by advocator Amit Panchal successful 2020 aft a occurrence astatine Shrey Hospital successful Ahmedabad killed 8 patients.

The bench, successful its bid connected Friday, directed Amit Arora and Anand Patel, some erstwhile Rajkot municipal commissioners, to record “personal affidavits” by October 25.

According to submissions made by RMC earlier the HC, TRP Game Zone had go functional successful June-July, 2021, and kept connected moving till May 25 without a no-objection certificate (NOC) from its occurrence and exigency services section and building-use support (BUP) from its municipality readying department. While Arora served arsenic Rajkot municipal commissioner from June 2021 to April 2023, Patel, who succeeded Arora, served successful that presumption till his transportation connected May 27.

“…With a heavy consciousness of symptom and feeling of frustration, the mode the effect has been fixed by the officers with vehemence to the Court, we are of the presumption that 2 Municipal Commissioners posted successful the Rajkot Municipal Corporation astatine the applicable constituent of clip are required to taxable their effect by filing their idiosyncratic affidavits,” the part seat stated.

During a proceeding of the PILs connected June 13, Panchal had underlined that the HC had, done its orders connected December 15, 2020 and February 25, 2021, had directed Gujarat’s 8 municipal corporations, including RMC, to guarantee that buildings successful their jurisdictions person occurrence NOCs and BUP. Panchal further said that successful response, the past Rajkot municipal commissioner had filed an affidavit dated March 8, 2022, successful which helium “affirmed connected oath” that helium would comply with the directions issued by this tribunal from clip to time.

During a proceeding of the PILs successful August this year, advocator of the victims had besides demanded that RMC officers wage compensation to them retired of their pockets. “At this stage, learned advocator appearing for the victims would reason that the victims person not been fixed capable compensation, inasmuch as, the erring officials are besides required to compensate the victims. The work has been fixed successful the SIT study upon the recognition of the erring officials and they beryllium held liable to wage compensation to the victims from their ain pocket. Even the Municipal Commissioners who are recovered to beryllium lacking successful discharging their duties successful supervisory power are besides liable to compensate the victims,” according to the August 23 bid of the HC.

Following the May 25 fire, RMC suspended 8 officers, including the past municipality readying serviceman M D Sagathiya and main occurrence serviceman Ilesh Kher. Others who were suspended included a lawman main occurrence officer, a occurrence officer, 3 adjunct municipality readying officers and an adjunct technologist of the municipality readying department. They each person been arrested and are presently successful judicial custody.

After a absorption by the HC, the authorities authorities had constituted a three-member committee of elder officers successful June to behaviour a fact-finding enquiry against RMC officers “to find retired the circumstantial relation of the liable elder officers of the corporation, who were posted from clip to time, and fixing their responsibilities, erstwhile they were astatine the helm of the affairs.”

But the committee recovered nary responsibility successful the roles of the 2 IAS officers. However, during a proceeding of the PILs connected August 23, Panchal opposed the cleanable chit to the 2 officers. “Panchal… would vehemently taxable that the Municipal Commissioner cannot beryllium fixed cleanable chit, inasmuch as, adjacent aft delegation of his powerfulness to immoderate different officers of the corporation, being the caput of the institution, helium exercises power implicit his subordinates and was required to guarantee that the delegated powers are being exercised…diligently and strictly successful accordance with law. It was argued that the findings successful the Report of the Fact Finding Committee that some the Municipal Commissioners person discharged their duties diligently…is misleading,” the HC bid dated August 23 stated.

Through its August 23 order, the HC had sought RMC effect to contentions raised by Panchal and the victims’ advocate. In response, Devang Desai, incumbent municipal commissioner of Rajkot, submitted an affidavit dated June 26. Desai, who had succeeded Patel, underlined that RMC has much than 6,000 employees and 36 antithetic departments, each headed by a sectoral adept to govern 6 lakh buildings dispersed implicit 161 quadrate kilometre country of the civic body’s jurisdiction.

Desai had said successful his affidavit of September 26, “In my humble submission, it appears that the-then Municipal Commissioners person duly discharged their respective duties… and…it would not beryllium successful the involvement of justness for the learned Amicus to contend that… (they) should beryllium held personally liable for immoderate alleged non-compliance of immoderate of the directions issued by this Hon’ble Court…”

But the tribunal objected to the “tenor” of Desai’s affidavit and sought idiosyncratic affidavits from his 2 predecessors.