AHMEDABAD: A special bench of Gujarat HC, which assembled here on Sunday to take suo motu cognizance of the deaths at the Rajkot gaming zone, called the fire an “unfortunate tragedy” which was “prima facie a man-made disaster“.
A bench of Justice Biren Vaishnav and Justice Devan Desai cited news reports and observed that such gaming zones and recreational facilities in the state have come up without necessary approvals from competent authorities.The judges directed four municipal corporations – Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot – and the state govt to come up with details about the provisions of law under which their authorities allowed such gaming zones to be set up and operated. HC has granted one day’s time to the lawyers of these municipal corporations to come up with replies.
The bench expressed shock at news reports that TRP gaming zone in Rajkot had taken advantage of the loopholes in the Gujarat Comprehensive General Development Control Regulations (CGDCR) to pave the way for creating illegal recreational activities. The court took notice of the fact that like Rajkot, such gaming zones have mushroomed in Ahmedabad, from Sidhu Bhavan Road to SG Highway and SP Ring Road, “which pose significant threat to public safety, especially innocent children”.
On the issue of loopholes in CGDCR, HC directed the municipal corporations to show whether the gaming zones operating under their respective jurisdictions had undertaken compliance of fire safety regulations.
President of Gujarat HC Advocates’ Association, Brijesh Trivedi, and advocate Amit Panchal, who demanded HC’s intervention in this matter, appeared before the court and drew the court’s attention on how a stock of inflammable material was kept carelessly at the gaming zone in Rajkot. This led the court to say, “Prima-facie, a man-made disaster has occurred where many lives have been lost and families have grieved today for the loss of lives in their respective families…”
Advocate Panchal has sought action in this matter by filing an application in relation to a PIL which he had filed in 2020 about fire safety in hospitals. He pointed out that despite direction from HC and SC to the state govt to strictly implement the fire safety rules, this tragedy has occurred showing gross negligence on the authorities’ part. HC has also directed to list the 2020 PIL along with the suo motu PIL on Monday.
A bench of Justice Biren Vaishnav and Justice Devan Desai cited news reports and observed that such gaming zones and recreational facilities in the state have come up without necessary approvals from competent authorities.The judges directed four municipal corporations – Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot – and the state govt to come up with details about the provisions of law under which their authorities allowed such gaming zones to be set up and operated. HC has granted one day’s time to the lawyers of these municipal corporations to come up with replies.
The bench expressed shock at news reports that TRP gaming zone in Rajkot had taken advantage of the loopholes in the Gujarat Comprehensive General Development Control Regulations (CGDCR) to pave the way for creating illegal recreational activities. The court took notice of the fact that like Rajkot, such gaming zones have mushroomed in Ahmedabad, from Sidhu Bhavan Road to SG Highway and SP Ring Road, “which pose significant threat to public safety, especially innocent children”.
On the issue of loopholes in CGDCR, HC directed the municipal corporations to show whether the gaming zones operating under their respective jurisdictions had undertaken compliance of fire safety regulations.
President of Gujarat HC Advocates’ Association, Brijesh Trivedi, and advocate Amit Panchal, who demanded HC’s intervention in this matter, appeared before the court and drew the court’s attention on how a stock of inflammable material was kept carelessly at the gaming zone in Rajkot. This led the court to say, “Prima-facie, a man-made disaster has occurred where many lives have been lost and families have grieved today for the loss of lives in their respective families…”
Advocate Panchal has sought action in this matter by filing an application in relation to a PIL which he had filed in 2020 about fire safety in hospitals. He pointed out that despite direction from HC and SC to the state govt to strictly implement the fire safety rules, this tragedy has occurred showing gross negligence on the authorities’ part. HC has also directed to list the 2020 PIL along with the suo motu PIL on Monday.