A giant hoarding in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar area collapsed on May 13 killing 17 people and injuring more than 70.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Bombay High Court on July 19 directed the police to file a detailed affidavit in response to a petition of advertising firm director Bhavesh Bhinde, arrested in the Ghatkopar hoarding collapse case.

Bhinde has sought that the FIR registered against him be quashed claiming that the hoarding collapse, which killed 17 persons, was an “act of God” and he is released on interim bail pending hearing of the plea. He has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

A division Bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha said the plea also raises the contention of illegal arrest as the mandatory notice under Section 41-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure was not issued to the accused first.

The Bench said the police will have to clarify their stand on this as several judgments say that illegal detention necessitates immediate release. Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar said a detailed affidavit will be filed. The court posted the matter for further hearing on July 26.

Bhinde is the director of Ego Media Private Limited which erected the giant hoarding in the city’s Ghatkopar area that collapsed on May 13 killing 17 people and injuring more than 70.

Bhinde sought the FIR registered against him to be quashed claiming that the crash was an “act of God” and hence he cannot be held responsible. Bhinde, presently in judicial custody, sought to be released on bail pending hearing of his plea.

Citing the India Meteorological Department (IMD) weather bulletin issued on May 12, Bhinde claimed that the collapse was an “act of God”.

“The IMD bulletin failed to predict the severe dust storms with gusty winds that hit Mumbai on the fateful day. On account of the aforesaid, the said hoarding collapsed and not due to improper, faulty construction of the same as wrongly, falsely alleged in the said FIR,” his plea said.

It further claimed that the “unexpected and unprecedented wind speeds of up to 96 kmph” caused the hoarding to collapse, an event for which neither he nor Ego Media Private Limited could be held accountable.

The petition added that on the day of the collapse, several other similar incidents happened in the city due to which buildings were damaged and hundreds of trees fell down, “resulting in several casualties”.

Bhinde’s petition also referred to the collapse of a multi-storey parking lot in Wadala, in which three people were injured. As per his plea, the hoarding was legally erected with all requisite permissions.

It claimed that the case was registered due to political pressure following the collapse and the same is “baseless, untenable, and not maintainable under the law”.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has no jurisdiction over the land on which the hoarding stood and the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder was incorrectly applied, it added.

“The construction and placement of the hoarding was authorised by Government Railway Police (GRP) and accompanied by necessary ‘No Objection Certificates’ (NOCs). Considering that the hoarding was on the Railways land, no permission was required from the BMC,” the petition said.

His plea claimed that on November 22, 2022, the commissioner of police, Railways, granted the rights for the construction/erection of hoarding, to Ego Media.

Mumbai:

An excavator operator had warned that the place in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar where a 120 ft x120 ft hoarding was being planned had soft soil, but this was ignored. Sixteen months later, the massive billboard came crashing down during a storm, killing 17 people and injuring 74 others.

In its 3,299-page chargesheet filed in a Mumbai court, the Special Investigation Team of Mumbai Crime Branch has also pointed to the alleged collusion of top officials in Government Railway Police (GRP), Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Ego Media Private Limited that set the stage for the May 13 tragedy.

According to the chargesheet, an excavator was at work to set up the huge billboard when a tree fell. The operator sensed soft soil and recommended a soil check so that building plans can be accordingly tweaked to ensure stability of the huge structure. This check would have taken 15 days.

But Ego Media director Bhavesh Bhinde and former director Jahnavi Marathe were in no mood to wait. They ignored the warning and proceeded without a soil check, the chargesheet has said. This alleged negligence, police have said, can be considered one of the reasons behind the illegal billboard crashing during the storm. The excavator operator is among more than 100 witnesses whose statements feature in the police chargesheet.

The chargesheet also raises serious allegations against IPS officer Quaiser Khalid — Khalid is former GRP Commissioner and approval for the hoarding was granted during his tenure — and BMC licence inspector Sunil Dalvi. The plot where the hoarding came up was leased to the GRP, and Khalid allegedly used gaps in law to award the hoarding to Ego Media without a tender process. He has now been suspended. Dalvi, on the other hand, issued a notice to Ego Media over the illegal hoarding, but withdrew it later. His continued contact with Bhinde raised questions.

The chilling crash of the hoarding, which was so big that it made it to the Limca Book of Records, put the spotlight on how rules were being bent and public safety ignored while granting approval to illegal hoardings in the Maximum City. According to rules, the maximum size of hoardings is 40 ft x 40 ft, but the Ghatkopar billboard was thrice the size.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has told the assembly that there are a total of 1,025 hoardings in BMC areas and none of them are illegal. He has said hoardings at Railway authority’s land are not erected after taking permission from BMC. According to a BMC survey, 99 out of 306 hoardings at Railway authority’s land in Mumbai are bigger than the maximum permitted size.

Mumbai:

Over 100 notices and penalties have been issued against Mumbai businessman Bhavesh Bhinde, whose company installed – illegally, city officials have claimed – a 14,400 sq ft hoarding in Ghatkopar that collapsed last week amid strong winds and rain, crushing 16 people and injuring 75 others.

Police sources told NDTV the notices and penalties are related to violation of rules for erection of billboards, suggesting Bhinde and his company may be the main culprit in an entirely preventable disaster that has, fortunately (if belatedly) prompted action against other outsized and illegal hoardings in the Maharashtra capital and other cities; Chennai has announced a crackdown too.

Bhinde went on the run after the billboard collapsed but was eventually arrested – three days later – from Rajasthan’s Udaipur. Police said the businessman skipped from Mumbai to Thane and Ahmedabad, changing his name and staying on the run for 72 hours in an attempt to evade capture.

READ | Mumbai Cops’ Secret Op To Catch Billboard Collapse Accused

He faces multiple charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Bhinde also faces 23 prior charges ranging from cheque fraud and illegally cutting trees (so his illegally installed billboards could be better seen) to rape; the latter case was filed in January.

READ | Rape Accused, Aspiring MLA: Man Behind Collapsed Billboard

Sources also said questions are now being raised over earlier contracts awarded by Indian Railways and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to erect billboards and hoardings.

Meanwhile, the inquiry into Bhinde and his company, Ego Media Ltd, has uncovered dubious business practices. Source said that in structuring company leadership Bhinde took similar evasive measures to keep potential blame at bay, including making an associate the firm’s director.

However, Bhinde reportedly retained the final say in negotiating contracts, many of which are being re-examined amid complaints of violation of Railways and the Mumbai civic body.

In December last year, after a row with the ‘director’, Bhinde assumed the position himself.

The hoarding that fell was 120 x 120 feet – so big it was in the Limca Book of Records. However, the Mumbai civic body has said it does not, on paper, allow billboards larger than 40 x 40 feet.

Questions have been raised over the approval process for the billboard’s construction, with the civic body stating it had not signed off and that its approval was necessary for all hoardings. Action has been ordered against all such “illegal” structures, civic body chief Bhushan Gagrani told reporters.

READ | Day After Collapse, Blame Game Over Mumbai Billboard

Bhinde, however, has insisted it received ‘permission’ from the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Railways). The land on which it was built had been leased to the Government Railway Police.

Ego Media built four hoardings on that land, including the one that collapsed.

In a predictable blame game, the GRP pitched responsibility back to the civic body, saying it does not have the equipment to take such structures down and asking the city officials to act.

A BMC official said the hoardings will be razed but offered no timeline.

READ | Fuel Station On Which Mumbai Hoarding Fell Didn’t Have Permit

The focus is also on the petrol station on which the hoarding fell; sources said it did not have an occupancy certificate – a permit confirming a building complies with all codes and regulations.

VIDEO | 16 Seconds Of Horror As Mumbai Billboard Comes Crashing Down

The billboard collapsed on May 13 after an unexpected bout of heavy rain and strong winds hit the city. Multiple disturbing videos of the collapse were soon being shared online, as were videos of other structures collapsing or being thrown about by gusts of wind, including a scaffolding.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde – under fire amid the ongoing general election – announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the families of each person who died in the Ghatkopar collapse.

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