Single-judge Justice Divyesh Joshi noted that the accused, who surrendered before the Police in January this year, was well aware about the 'poor condition' of the bridge yet allowed it to be opened for the public.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha Mayee made the observation while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition related to the poor condition of two heritage bridges in Rajkot.
"Consider the fact that even women have become orphans, in a way, in this tragic incident. They were dependent on the bread earner of the family. You need to give them some jobs," CJ Agarwal told the State & Oreva Group.
The private contractor, Ajanta Oreva, which was operating the Morbi bridge in Gujarat at the time of its collapse, told the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday that the State and other authorities cannot pass the buck now.
46 councillors of the Morbi Nagar Palika sought to intervene in the matter, apprehending that the State was likely to take over the civic body after observations made by the Court.