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Judge Dave recently granted regular bail to five defendants in the case – two booking clerks and three security guards. (pic/pti file)
When Principal Dinesh Dev’s bail case was filed to hear Judge Sameer Dev, he recused himself, saying ‘not before me’, but did not specify any reason for the decision.
Gujarat High Court Judge Sameer Dev on Thursday stepped aside from hearing the usual bail application for a jailed Oriva Group executive for his alleged role in last year’s Morbi bridge collapse that killed 135 people.
When principal Dinesh Dev’s bail case was filed to hear Judge Sameer Dev, he recused himself, saying “not before me”, but did not specify any reason for the decision.
Dinesh Dev is one of ten suspects arrested by the police after a British-era suspension bridge collapsed in October last year in the town of Morbi, Gujarat state.
As many as 135 people were killed and 56 seriously injured when the bridge, which is maintained and operated by the Oriva Group, collapsed days after it reopened after repairs.
Most notably, Judge Dave recently granted regular bail to five defendants in the case – two booking clerks and three security guards – who were posted on the bridge by the firm.
Those still behind bars in the case include Jaysukh Patel, managing director of Oriva Group; Company Principals Dipak Parekh and Dinesh Dave; Sub-contractors Prakash Parmar and Devang Parmar, who have been appointed by the company to carry out repair work on the structure which is more than 100 years old.
The suspension bridge over the Machu River in the town of Morbi, once a popular tourist attraction, collapsed on October 30 when more than 200 people were on it.
In January, Morbi Police filed an indictment in the case.
All 10 accused are charged under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (intentional homicide not amounting to murder) in addition to other offences.
(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
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