"Municipal Commissioners Are Sleeping": Gujarat High Court On Rajkot Fire

Municipal Commissioners have been accused of massive negligence by the Gujarat High Court, which was holding a hearing on last month's fire incident in Rajkot today. The court questioned why only contractors were blamed for fire incidents, and said it "would not spare even the responsible officers" in such instances.

The fire at TRP Game Zone, a gaming arcade in Rajkot, on May 25 had killed 28 people, some of them children. Investigations revealed it was operating without a fire license.

In an earlier hearing, the court had ripped into the civic body and the state government after it became known that the Rajkot gaming arcade that caught fire was not the only one to be running without a fire license. In Rajkot two other gaming zones were operating for over two years without permits, including fire safety certificates.

"Such incidents keep happening including in Morbi, Harni," the High Court said today. "Why does the government cover the contractor only in such incidents? Municipal Commissioners are sleeping, hence accidents are happening due to such negligence... Now no municipal commissioner will be given a chance," said the two-judge bench led by Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal.

"The Rajkot fire incident seems small to you... now you will not be able to save the officers," the judges said, ordering that the affidavit be filed on time. "Aren't you ashamed?" the court had snapped at the civic body when it sought more time to file the affidavit.

The court was hearing a petition that claimed that the Fire Safety Act, as directed by the Supreme Court, is not followed in the state. The petition had also claimed that there is laxity in the investigation.

After the Rajkot fire incident, the Gujarat government has come up with a set of draft rules to ensure safety at recreation facilities.