Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Feb 22: The directors of private contractor Ajanta Oreva, who are charged in the case involving the collapse of the Morbi bridge, were given an order by the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday to increase the compensation due to the victims of the terrible tragedy.
The contractor had first promised to give the families of those who died in the disaster 3.5 lakh rupees and those who were injured 50,000 rupees.
Senior Attorney Nirupam Nanavti, who is representing the contractor, stated this morning that the company has increased the amounts to be paid to the deceased and the injured to 5 lakh and 1 lakh, respectively.
The division bench of Chief Justice Sonia Gokani and Justice Sandeep Bhatt discovered that the sums were lower and did not follow the rules established by the Supreme Court in its decision in Sanjay Gupta v. State of UP.
In the Sanjay Gupta case, the supreme court imposed instructions on the payment of compensation and demanded that, in cases where such private parties are accountable for any incident, they pay victims 55% of the compensation.
In light of this, the High Court directed Ajanta to pay the deceased’s kin 10 lakh and the injured 2 lakh.
“The State has paid an amount of ? 8 lakh and the Central government through PM Relief Fund has paid ? 2 lakh for the victims. We have noted that the Contractor has offered to pay some compensation, but we think this amount does not match with the apportionment of 55 per cent as ordered by the apex court. Thus, we direct the company to enhance the compensation amount for deceased to ? 10 lakh and ? 2 lakh for those injured in the incident,” the Court said.
The case involves the demise of Jultu Pul, a 141-year-old suspension bridge in Morbi, Gujarat. On October 30 of last year, after being reopened following Oreva Group maintenance and repairs, the bridge collapsed, killing hundreds of people. In November, the Gujarat High Court took suo motu note of the situation.
The corporation has already promised to accept complete responsibility for seven children who became orphans as a result of the tragedy, from their dwelling to their schooling and employment, the bench said in its judgement on Wednesday.
The matter would be next heard after two weeks.
