The Gujarat high court ordered Oreva Group – managing the Morbi suspension bridge when it collapsed on October 30, 2022- to pay Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of the 135 persons killed, and Rs 2 lakh to the 56 injured, as interim compensation.
The court perused compensation orders from cases such as the Bhopal gas tragedy and the Uphaar Cinema fire holding private companies liable for man-made calamities. The bench of Chief Justice Sonia Gokani and Justice Sandeep Bhatt then accepted 55% liability apportionment on the private player.
However, the bench only directed Oreva to match the compensation paid by the state government and Centre combined at this juncture, keeping the clock manufacturing company’s liability at 50%
The state government has paid Rs 8 lakh and the Centre Rs 2 lakh as compensation for each death, while those injured have received Rs 2 lakh each.
