Gujarat HC discharges financier in 2001 Gujarat earthquake building collapse case

Gujarat High Court has quashed a trial court’s order and discharged an accused who was prosecuted following the tragic collapse of the Sangemarmar Complex during the devastating 2001 Gujarat earthquake. 

The catastrophic 7.9-intensity earthquake had led to the structural failure of one wing of the Ahmedabad-based residential building, resulting in the unfortunate death of 11 individuals.

The high court allowed the criminal revision application filed by Bharatbhai Shah, overturning the 2011 decision of the Ahmedabad Sessions Court that had rejected his discharge plea. 

The prosecution had sought to try the accused under Sections 304 (culpable homicide) and 120B(1) (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

The high court observed that the material on record prima facie established that the applicant was merely a financier who had funded the superstructure, and not the actual builder, developer, or contractor. 

The court noted that all essential municipal permissions, affidavits, and indemnity bonds were held exclusively by the landowner and builder Jagdishchandra Sodhan. Furthermore, a caveat filed by Sodhan in 1991 had explicitly termed the applicant as an investor rather than an owner.

The court highlighted that the building was constructed between 1989 and 1991, remaining safely occupied for a decade prior to the natural disaster. Highlighting the complete absence of mens rea (criminal intention) or knowledge, the court ruled that the structural failure of a building due to a severe natural calamity after a considerable lapse of time cannot attract charges of culpable homicide.