"Loopholes And Lapses": High Court Raps Gujarat Over Rajkot Gaming Zone Fire

The Gujarat High Court on Thursday again rapped the state government over the Rajkot game zone fire that killed 27 persons in May, wondering why a demolition order against the illegal structure was not executed for nearly a year.

The censure came in response to an affidavit submitted to the division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi that has been hearing a suo motu PIL (public interest litigation) it had taken up on May 26, a day after the tragedy.

The Gujarat government on Thursday also submitted its "fact-finding inquiry" report in a sealed cover to the HC on the TRP game zone blaze in Rajkot.

The bench last month had expressed displeasure over the investigation into the fire and ordered a "fact-finding inquiry" to uncover how the illegal game zone had come up and what roles officials played in it.

This had prompted the Gujarat government to appoint a "fact-finding committee" comprising IAS officers Manisha Chandra (Commissioner of Rural Development), P Swaroop (Commissioner of Land Reforms) and Rajkumar Beniwal (Vice Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Gujarat Maritime Board).

While going through the state's affidavit on Thursday, the chief justice said though the officials of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) were aware that the TRP game zone was illegal, no action was taken against it despite a demolition order being served to the management in June 2023.

"A demolition order was issued by the RMC. One year has passed since then (till the fire incident). Why was it not executed? Where is the answer? That demolition order proves that officials knew that the structure was illegal," the CJ said.

When Advocate General Kamal Trivedi pointed out that the present Municipal Commissioner has already suspended RMC's Town Planning Officer (TPO) and an Assistant TPO for negligence, Chief Justice Agarwal said it was not enough.

"Taking action against a few people will not help you. The working (style) has to be revisited. There are loopholes and lapses which need to be taken care of. You cannot put this state in this situation. It is very serious that such incidents are happening," noted the chief justice.

The bench also expressed displeasure over the state government's submission that the then Rajkot municipal commissioner was unaware of the illegal structure because TPO and his office were dealing with the matter and the demolition notice was sent by TPO, not the civic chief.

"You can't say that this was not brought to my notice. It's not an excuse. Even I can't say that. I have to take responsibility for everything, good or bad. This should be the approach of the head of an institution," the CJ said.

Since a report from the state government-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) is still pending, the court has asked Mr Trivedi to submit it as well as an Action Taken Report on July 25, when the matter will be heard next.

Twenty-seven persons, including four children, were killed in the massive fire that swept through the game zone in the Nana-Mava locality of Rajkot city on May 25.

A probe revealed that the game zone was running without any no objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department of the RMC.