Ravindra Singh - (1.) -The applicant Lakhan Tomar has filed Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 17994 of 2006, applicant Asit Gupta has filed Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 14280 of 2006 and applicant Siddharth Manohar has filed Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 13497 of 2006 with a prayer that they may be released on bail in Case Crime No. 95 of 2006 under Sections 304, 308 and 427, I.P.C. P.S. Civil Lines, district Meerut.
(2.) IT is a case arising out of a most important incident in which about 65 person lost their lives and more than 200 persons sustained burn injuries. The prosecution story in brief is that the F.I.R. of this case has been lodged by Sri R. P. Singh, Station House Officer P.S. Civil Lines, district Meerut on 10.4.2006 at about 9.05 p.m. in respect of the incident which had occurred on 10.4.2006 at 6.00 pm. at Victoria Park, Meerut. The F.I.R. has been lodged against the applicants and some other persons alleging that a message was flashed by the District Control Room at 6.00 p.m. that a fire was broken in the exhibition organized at Victoria Park, on that information, the first informant alongwith some other police personnel reached at Victoria Park and saw that the Fire Brigade was trying to extinguish the fire and the police personnel of different police stations including the senior officers were busy in shifting the injured to different hospitals and the dead bodies to the mortuary at the medical college Meerut. The Police force of various police stations of district Meerut and other districts, P.A.C. and vehicles of fire brigade reached at the place of occurrence. The organizers of the said exhibition namely Lakhan Tomar, Asit Gupta and Siddarth Manohar had not made appropriate arrangements to extinguish the fire and due to their gross negligence the massive fire tragedy had taken place in which many persons have lost their lives and many persons sustained burn injuries and the property as a whole also burnt to ashes. In the present case the consumer show was organized by the applicants in the name of 'Brand India Consumer Show' from 6.4.2006 to 10.4.2006 at the Victoria Park, Meerut in respect of the electronic items based on latest technology. The applicants are carrying on the organisation named as Mineral Events and Exposition. In this show different electronic items were exhibited at different stalls, for this purpose 3000 sq. meter area was covered, which was made centrally air conditioned, the pandal was having three blocks marked as A, B and C in the lay out plan, which were inter connected. There was an open place between the blocks in which some of the area was covered for food stall. For the purpose of air conditioning in each block, three or four high powered A.Cs. were installed and for supply of electricity 18 generators, each generator was having diesel engine of 20 K.W., were used but no electric supply was obtained from the Electricity Department. For organising this consumer show in the Victoria Park field, the permission was obtained from the Meerut College, Meerut and the permission was obtained from the Additional District Magistrate, Meerut City and S.S.P. Meerut, the applicants had deposited Rs. 60,000 as Entertainment Tax. For obtaining the permission from the Additional District Magistrate, Meerut City, an application dated 27.3.2006 was given by the applicant Lakhan Tomar, in which the purpose of organising the consumer show was clearly mentioned with the undertaking to follow all the provided guidelines, suggested safety and precautionary measures and for the purpose of the same a lay out plan of the exhibition was also submitted. According to the lay out plan there was only one entry in block A after covering area of block A, B and C, the exit was in block C and five emergency exits were also shown, each block of A and C was having two emergency exits and block B was having only one emergency exit but the organiser have not erected the pandal according to the lay out plan submitted before the authority concerned because according to the evidence collected by the Investigating Officer there was no emergency exit. All three pandals were made centrally air conditioned but this fact has not been disclosed by the applicants at the time of taking the permission from the district administration, even the applicants have not disclosed the fact that the electricity consumed in the exhibition shall be generated by the generators and the electricity supply shall not be taken from the Electricity Depajrtment and the applicants have not taken any permission for the use of high powered generators for generating electricity from the electricity department whereas the permission for the use of high powered generators was legally required from the electricity department. The applicants have not taken permission for the use of high powered generators, which were 18 in number, from the Pollution Control Broad or its any other competent authority. The applicants have organised the show in violation of the undertaking given by them to the district administration, as they have not made any arrangements for the safety and they have not adopted any precautionary measures to fight with situation arising out of the electric short-circuiting its information was not given to Fire Brigade department and no permission was obtained, no fire officer had visited the exhibition place the security personnel were not deputed for the same purpose, even no water was provided by the organisers at the exhibition place and in each block of the pandals which was legally required and the extinguishers were not installed by the organizers at the place of exhibition. The applicants have violated the provisions of Electricity law and Rules even pandal erected by the applicants was not as prescribed standard the tin shed was not used in pandal, the wiring was not done according to the prescribed guide lines, the wiring was touching the pandal and no precautions to prevent fire tragedy were taken. The inflammable material/plastic fibre was used even the pandal was not erected according to the guidelines, it was of semi arched shape. The pandals were having the capacity of three thousand people at a time. There was only one entry and one exit gate. After getting the entry, exit was after covering all the three blocks and in between the blocks, there was a food stall where eatable items were being prepared and served from 4 to 5 stalls, for this purpose cooking gas, stove/big burners run by L.P.G. Gas were used. The applicants were having knowledge that they were organizing the exhibition in utter violation of law, without taking permission as required by the law and in violation of the undertakings given by them, which resulted into a disastrous massive fire tragedy in which about 65 persons have lost their lives, they burnt alive, and about 200 persons sustained burn injuries and the property worth rupees in crores has been damaged. The applicants have organised the exhibition by concealing the material facts and by playing a fraud upon the authority concerned. The alleged incident has taken place on 10.4.2006 but the applicants have not made any effort to extinguish the fire because it was not possible for all the persons to come out from the pandal in the emergency because there was only one entry gate and one exit gate. The report of Directorate of Electric Security U. P. Shashan, Lucknow shows that the alleged incident had occurred on 10.4.2006 at about 5.30 p.m. The electricity used in the exhibition was generated by the high powered generators, for its inspection no information was given to the Electricity Department by the district administration or the organizers and for the purpose of installation of generators, no spot inspection was made and 'No Objection Certificate' was obtained by the organizers. The pandal was having three blocks, which were air conditioned. The pandal was air tight, for this purpose nylon synthetic cloths was used and the same cloth was used on in covering iron structure and within 10 to 15 minutes, the pandal and other items were burnt to ashes. The wiring was not properly done and there was no arrangement of earthing. For the generators used in the exhibition at least 48 cut outs were required but the organizer had used only 29 cut outs. The organizers had violated the electricity law and the rules and due to fire broken temperature rose upto 400 to 500oC. The F.I.R. was registered under Sections 304A, 333, 338 and 427, I.P.C. but after investigation charge-sheet has been submitted under Sections 304 308 and 427, I.P.C.
(3.) HEARD Sri Virendra Bhatia, senior advocate assisted by Sri Nitin Sharma, Sri V. P. Srivastrava, senior advocate, assisted by Sri Lav Srivastava and Sri S. K. Tyagi, learned counsel for the applicant, Sri S. M. A. Kazmi, learned advocate general of the State of U. P. assisted by Sri Mewa Lal Shukla, learned A.G.A. for the State of U. P., Sri Ravi Kiran Jain, senior advocate and Sri Satish Trivedi, senior advocate, assisted by Sri Swetashwa Agarwal, for Meerut Victorari Park Agnikand Aahat Kalyan Samiti, Meerut. It is contended by the learned counsel for the applicants : I. That the applicants had organized the consumer show (exhibition) to bring some products based on latest technology and products relating to various industries and major brands under, one roof thereby giving the common man insight into the latest technology being offered by these companies and to provide an opportunity to witness some of the latest products for commercial considerations. It was organized after obtaining the permission from the Principal, Meerut College Meerut, Additional District Magistrate, Meerut City, S.S.P. Meerut and after informing the Electricity Department and fire officers for which Rs. 60,000 were deposited as Entertainment Tax, its proper publication was made in newspapers. Its inauguration was made by the District Magistrate Meerut. The applicants have not violated any necessary rule, laws and the conditions under taken by them. For erecting the pandal etc. the Standard Exposition Company took the responsibility for providing infrastructures like erecting various pandals, electricity fitting, generators, and other infrastructures and its maintenance, who erected the pandal having 3 blocks, as per layout plan which was made centrally air conditioned for which 3 or 4 A.Cs were installed in every block, the open place was left in between the blocks in which some of the area was covered for food stalls. Every block was having emergency exits, the electricity department has refused to supply the electricity then the generators were used. II. As per requirement the permission from the Chief Fire Officer, Meerut was necessary for which the applicants applied for grant of permission vide letter dated 1.4.2006 but same was not granted. In view of the above application the Fire Officer Meerut visited the spot and suggested certain measures to be taken by the applicants'. In the light of those suggestions the applicants took all necessary precautions and fire extinguishers were installed and private security was also provided. The applicants have taken all the necessary possible precautions in organizing the exhibition and proper arrangements were made to extinguish the fire also. There was no negligence on their part. There was no illegality in organizing the exhibition and its-arrangement. The exhibition was organized in a decent manner. III. That the applicants had applied for electricity connection from the electricity department but the electricity department did not give permission and ultimately service of 18 generators was obtained. All the generators had auto cut system like M.C.V. had there been any short circuit the supply would have automatically disrupted which shows that the incident occurred not on account of the short circuit but some other agency had committed the mischief but by the district administration just in order to save their skin, the shape of short circuit has been given. IV. That the supply of electricity was made from the top of the roofs of every block. As per expert opinion, the temperature of the ground had risen upto 400 to 500oC and the structure which was of aluminum had also melted but for melting the aluminum the required temperature is about 700 to 800oC which also goes to show that the alleged incident had occurred due to some sabotage from the ground level and not from the top of the block on account of the short circuiting. The expert report is not reliable it is based on hypothesis. V. That the alleged incident has occurred all of a sudden, which was beyond the control of the applicants. The applicants being the organizer of the exhibition have made all the efforts to extinguish the fire and to protect the life of the persons in trouble. VI. That it was a tragedy, which can be said the act of God for which no person can be held responsible, but the media has highlighted the episode in a manner touching the pulses of the people, as it was done by the applicants. It was sabotage, arson or an act of terrorist. VII. That if the entire prosecution story is taken as it is, by no stretch of imagination it can be a case under Section 304, I.P.C. If it is accepted for the sake of arguments though not admitted, the maximum offence will be under Section 304A, I.P.C. or an act punishable under the Electricity Act. VIII. That the applicants are innocent, they have not committed the alleged offence but they have been falsely implicated in the present case and they are in jail for about a year, they are men of good status having no criminal antecedent, they undertake that they shall not tamper with the evidence and shall cooperate with the proceedings of trial. Therefore, they may be released on bail. ;