Rajkot Fire: Gujarat High Court Questions State Over Year-Long Delay In Executing Demolition Order Against TRP Game Zone

The Gujarat High Court on Thursday reprimanded the State government over the TRP Game Zone fire in Rajkot, which resulted in the deaths of 27 people in May, questioning why a demolition order against the illegal structure had not been executed for nearly a year.

The censure came in response to an affidavit submitted to the division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi, which has been hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) initiated on May 26, a day after the fire.

On Thursday, the Gujarat government also submitted its “fact-finding inquiry” report in a sealed cover to the HC regarding the blaze. Chief Justice Agarwal, while reviewing the state's affidavit, noted that despite the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) officials being aware of the TRP Game Zone's illegal status, no action was taken against it even though a demolition order had been issued in June 2023.

The bench had expressed dissatisfaction with the investigation into the fire last month and had ordered a "fact-finding inquiry" to determine how the illegal game zone was established and what roles officials played in its existence. This led the Gujarat government to form a "fact-finding committee" comprising IAS officers Manisha Chandra, P Swaroop, and Rajkumar Beniwal.

While examining the state's affidavit, Chief Justice Agarwal remarked, “A demolition order was issued by the RMC. One year has passed since then (till the fire incident). Why was it not executed? Where is the answer? That demolition order proves that officials knew that the structure was illegal,” the CJ said.

When Advocate General Kamal Trivedi mentioned that the current municipal commissioner had suspended RMC's town planning officer (TPO) and an assistant TPO for negligence, Chief Justice Agarwal responded that this was insufficient.

The Chief Justice stated, “Taking action against a few people will not help you. The working (style) has to be revisited. There are loopholes and lapses, which need to be taken care of. You cannot put this state in this situation. It is very serious that such incidents are happening.”

The bench also expressed displeasure over the state government's claim that the then RMC commissioner was unaware of the illegal structure because the TPO and his office were handling the matter and the demolition notice was sent by the TPO, not the civic chief.

The Chief Justice asserted, “You can't say that this was not brought to my notice. It's not an excuse. Even I can't say that. I have to take responsibility for everything, good or bad. This should be the approach of the head of an institution.”

“There has to be some system of check and balance. By only saying there is a mistake, nothing is going to happen. It is a kind of warning, a trigger that you should look at your house and put it in order. This is a state which has a lot of potential; you cannot put the state in this situation for the sake of, benefit of a few officers,” the Chief Justice further added.

With the report from the state government-appointed special investigation team (SIT) still pending, the court asked Trivedi to submit it along with an action taken report on July 25, the next hearing date.

Meanwhile, the High Court also directed the state to address fire safety issues in two courtrooms at the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) premises in Danapith after advocate Amit Panchal highlighted the lack of safety measures. Trivedi assured the court that an inspection would be conducted immediately.

Twenty-seven individuals, including four children, perished in the massive fire that engulfed the game zone in Rajkot's Nana-Mava locality on May 25.

Case Title: Suo Motu v. State of Gujarat & Ors.