The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra Police to produce the chargesheets in the case concerning the collapse of a 28-feet statue of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, as it reviews the bail pleas of 2 accused individuals.
Engineer Chetan Patil and sculptor Jaydeep Apte, who were arrested in connection with the incident, claimed that the statue fell due to strong winds.
During the hearing, Patil’s lawyer, Advocate Niranjan Mundargi, argued that Patil was only responsible for designing the pedestal on which the statue was placed. Patil’s role was limited to providing structural analysis and stability for the platform, not the statue itself.
However, Additional Public Prosecutor Geeta Mule informed the court that a chargesheet had been filed two to three days ago.
She suggested that given the change in circumstances, the accused—whose bail applications had been rejected by the lower court—should be sent back to the lower court for further proceedings.
Justice Anil Kilor, who was hearing the petitions, directed the state to submit the chargesheet so that the high court could review the evidence against the accused and decide the bail applications directly. Mule requested a two-week extension, citing the upcoming Assembly elections, which could delay the availability of police officers for the case.
Advocate Ganesh Sovani, representing Apte, opposed this delay, urging the court to proceed without further adjournments.
The bench adjourned the matter to November 21, noting that since the chargesheet would already be available, the prosecutor only needed to provide details of the evidence against the accused.
According to the prosecution, Patil was tasked with the erection of the statue’s platform and was the structural consultant responsible for its stability analysis. The Public Works Department (PWD) had inspected the statue in August and found rust on its joints, raising concerns from tourists. After the statue collapsed, Patil was arrested on August 30 by the Malwan police.
He is currently in judicial custody and maintains his innocence, claiming no involvement in the statue’s fall.
Patil’s wife has filed a separate petition in the high court, challenging the legality of his arrest, alleging that the police did not provide proper grounds for his detention.
Apte, who made the bronze statue, also filed a bail plea. His lawyer argued that the statue was created based on a work order from the Naval Dockyard, and no complaints had been made about its craftsmanship. The FIR filed within hours of the incident was based on the PWD’s findings, but Apte’s plea stated that the officers lacked technical expertise in metallurgy.
The plea suggested that if the collapse was due to negligence, it was more about rusting, which could have been prevented with proper precautions. Additionally, the FIR does not mention any injuries caused by the collapse.
