‘Officers Suspended But Brought Back After..’, SC On Bridge Collapse Incidents In Bihar

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday criticized the Bihar government, saying that the government’s officials were suspended after incidents of bridge collapse but brought back after the furore died down.

The matter was heard by a bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar. The bench observed, “Certain officers were duly suspended after the bridge collapse incident only to be brought back after the furore over the incident died down”.

During the hearing, the government said it had inspected around 10,000 bridges in the state. The bench said it has gone through the counter affidavit, and it is transferring the case to the Patna High Court. “In the counter affidavit, they (state authorities) have given details of what they are doing…,” the bench said.

The bench said the counter-affidavit of the state government does not provide any reason for the incidents, but contains a long list of schemes and policies.

The bench said the high court could monitor, preferably every month, the steps taken to ensure structural and safety audits of bridges in Bihar. The bench asked the petitioner, state authorities and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to appear before the high court on May 14, when a future hearing date would be fixed there.

The plea raised concerns about the safety and longevity of bridges in Bihar. The plea had claimed the collapse of several such structures in recent months. The top court also expressed its discontent at the state government’s and its authorities’ voluminous reply on the plea filed by lawyer petitioner Brajesh Singh.

The apex court, in November last year, had granted a last opportunity to the Bihar government and others to file their response to the PIL on the issue.