Supreme Court Issues Notice To Bihar Govt On PIL Over Bridge Collapses

The Supreme Court on Monday (July 29) issued notice in a PIL seeking directions to the Bihar government for a thorough structural audit and constitution of a high-level expert committee to identify any weak bridges that might need to be demolished or strengthened.

The bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra agreed to consider the matter and passed the following brief order :

"Issue notice, liberty to serve notice to the standing counsel of Bihar"

The petition has been filed in the wake of reports regarding the collapse of at least 9 bridges recently (including under-construction bridges). According to the petition, the collapses raise significant concerns about the safety and reliability of bridge infrastructures in the region, especially considering that Bihar is the most flood-prone state in India.

The PIL not only seeks an audit but also the formation of a high-level expert committee. This committee would be responsible for a detailed examination and continuous monitoring of all the bridges to ensure they are safe for public use.

The PIL highlights the multiple bridge collapses around river areas including the Araria, Siwan, Madhubani and Kishanganj districts.

"It is a matter of grave concern that in a state like Bihar, which is the most flood-prone state of India, the total flood-affected area in the state is 68,800 sq. km which is 73.06 per cent of the total geographical area. Hence such routine accrual of the incident of falling bridges in Bihar is more disastrous as the lives of people at large are at stake. Therefore the urgent intervention of this Hon'ble Court is required to save the lives of people, as the under-construction bridges before its accomplishment collapsed routinely," the petitioner said.

The petitioner sought real-time monitoring of the bridges based on the same methodology developed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India through its policy dated March 4, 2024, for Preservation of National Highways and Centrally Sponsored Scheme.

Case Details : BRAJESH SINGH VS. THE STATE OF BIHAR W.P.(C) No. 000462 / 2024