SC transfers plea on bridge collapse incidents in Bihar to Patna HC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday transferred to the Patna High Court a PIL that raised concerns about the safety and longevity of bridges in Bihar after several of them collapsed in recent months.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said the Patna High Court may monitor, preferably on a monthly basis, the steps taken to ensure structural and safety audits of bridges in the state.
The bench asked PIL petitioner and lawyer Brajesh Singh, state authorities and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to appear before the high court on May 14 when the future hearing date will be fixed there.
In a brief hearing, the state government said it has inspected around 10,000 bridges in the state.
“We have gone through the counter (affidavit). We are transferring the case to Patna (High Court). In the counter affidavit, they (state authorities) have given details of what they are doing…,” the bench said.
On November 18 last year, the top court had granted the last opportunity to the Bihar government and others to file its response to the PIL on the issue.
Prior to this, petitioner Singh had moved the court seeking its nod to bring on record various news reports and additional documents to highlight the dilapidated condition of bridges in Bihar.
The court on July 29, 2024 had sought responses from the Bihar government and others, including the NHAI on the plea.
The PIL sought directions for a structural audit and setting up of an expert panel to identify bridges that can be either strengthened or demolished based on its findings.
Besides the state and the NHAI, the top court in July last year had also issued notices to the road construction department's additional chief secretary, Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Limited chairperson and rural works department's additional chief secretary.
Ten incidents of bridge collapse have been reported in Bihar's Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj districts from May to July last year. Many claimed that heavy rainfall might have led to the incidents.
The PIL raised concerns about the safety and longevity of the bridges in the state that usually witnesses heavy rains and floods during the Monsoon.
Besides setting up a high-level expert panel, it also sought real-time monitoring of the bridges as per the parameters laid by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
The petitioner highlighted that Bihar is the most flood-prone state in India. The total flood-affected area in the state is 68,800 square km which is 73.06 per cent of its total geographical area, he mentioned.
"Hence, such routine accrual of the incident of falling bridges in Bihar is more disastrous as the lives of people at large is at stake. Therefore, the urgent intervention of this court is required to save the lives of people, as the under-construction bridges before its (their) accomplishment collapsed routinely," the plea read.
In view of the bridge collapse incidents, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed the road construction and rural works departments to conduct a survey of all old bridges in the state and identify those in need of immediate repair.
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Vadodara car crash: FSL report reveals accused smoked marijuana, was not drunk
Vadodara: The main accused in the March 14 car crash in Vadodara, Rakshit Chaurasia, had smoked marijuana but was not under the influence of alcohol, according to the primary report from Gandhinagar’s Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). Chaurasia, a 20-year-old law student, was driving a speeding car that rammed into two-wheelers near Muktanand crossroads in Karelibaug, killing a woman and injuring several others.
The FSL’s findings, as cited by police officials, revealed that Chaurasia’s blood sample tested positive for marijuana. Two others who were in the car with him—Praanshu Chauhan and Suresh Bharwad—also tested positive for the same. All three have been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
Chaurasia has also been booked under s. 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which deals with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He is currently lodged in Vadodara Central Jail. Chauhan has also been arrested, while Bharwad remains absconding.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 4, Panna Momaya, the blood reports confirmed drug consumption. "They were driving the car after smoking marijuana," she said.
CCTV footage showed the car speeding before taking a sharp turn and hitting the two-wheeler. In the moments before the crash, Chaurasia was seen behaving erratically, shouting "another round, another round," followed by chanting “Om Namah Shivay” and calling out a girl’s name, “Nikita.”
Later, Chaurasia told reporters that a pothole caused the accident and claimed he was driving at 50 km/hr. He also said the airbag deployment had obstructed his view.
