Bombay High Court grants bail to person arrested in the Shivaji statue collapse case

Bombay High Court granted bail to a structural consultant, Chetan Patil. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Bombay High Court on Thursday (November 21, 2024) granted bail to a structural consultant, Chetan Patil, who was arrested in the case of the collapse of the Shivaji statue at Rajkot Fort in Malvan city of Sindhudurg district. Mr. Patil was arrested on August 30, from Kolhapur, after the 35-foot Shivaji statue collapsed on August 26.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the statue on December 4, 2023, on Navy Day, nearly nine months before it collapsed.   

Mr. Patil approached the court after a Sessions Court rejected his bail plea. The Sessions Court said that, prima facie, the evidence showed iron had been used to construct the statue instead of stainless steel, and that the collapse of the statue within a few months of its construction provided a clear indication that the statue lacked quality. 

Also Read: Weak structure, rust caused Shivaji statue collapse, says probe panel

A Single Bench judge, Justice Anil S. Kilor, on Thursday observed that no case had been made out to implicate Mr. Patil in the case as he had not been appointed as the Shivaji statue’s structural designer. Mr. Patil had only submitted a structural stability report for the pedestal of the statue, which was intact even after the collapse, the judge observed.

Mr. Patil argued that he was an Assistant Professor by profession. His was not involved in the matter as he had only provided a stability report specifically meant for the Shivaji statue’s platform and pedestal, and not for the statue. The report had been submitted through the WhatsApp messaging app at a friend’s request, he said.  

On November 25, the High Court will hear the bail plea of the statue’s sculptor and contractor, Jaydeep Apte. Mr. Apte has been arrested on charges of negligence, including other offences alleged on the quality of the statue.  

After a Sessions Court rejected Mr. Apte’s bail plea, he moved the High Court and contended that the First Information Report (FIR) against him had been filed in haste by a civil engineer who did not have any expertise in metallurgy, and that the charges pressed against him did not have the basis of a scientific report to support the case.