Bombay HC grants interim relief against arrest to three builders in Pune Kondhwa wall collapse case

MUMBAI: Justice Revati Mohite-Der of Bombay high court on Thursday granted interim pre-arrest bail to three builders from Pune till July 30 against arrest by Kondhwa police station for a retaining wall collapse that killed 15 workers in a rainy-day tragedy on June 29.
Rashmikant Gandhi and two others sought protection from the HC as they said they fear arrest in a FIR lodged by the Pune police. Gandhi’s counsel Rajendra Shirodkar argued that the wall was constructed by another builder in between 2014-18.It was on an adjacent plot to the own he owned and therefore he cannot be held responsible for the wall or its collapse. The other two accused Sudhir Shah and Pankaj Vohra, also builders with Gandhi in SVG Builders. Their counsel Ashok Mundargi also said they police was trying to arrest them for someone else’s mistake.
In his petition, Gandhi stated that a decade ago, a plot at Kondhwa was owned by Kunal group. Later they had entered into a joint venture with Runwal group. In 2011, excavation work was done on the plot by Kunal-Runwal group and in 2014 "Alcon-Stylus work was started by Aggrawal Builders on their plot which was adjacent.'' The work on Alcon-Stylus building along with the retaining wall was completed in 2018 while the Kunal-Runwal JV had only constructed a parking structure till then. In 2018, said the petition, SVG Builders LLP was constituted with the partners Pankaj Vohra, Nilesh Vohra, Suresh Vohra and Gandhi as joint venture with Kunal Group.
In February SVG Builders LLP started some activities which was left incomplete by Runwal group on the plot. On June 29, the retaining wall of Alcon-Stylus collapsed on the labour camps set up on Gandhi's plot which resulted in the death of 15 workers. On July 1, a sessions court rejected their pre-arrest bail plea and hence Gandhi and the other two approached HC for relief.