The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Chetan Patil, a structural consultant arrested in connection with the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra.

Justice Anil Kilor, sitting on a single-judge bench, heard the bail application filed by Patil, who had been arrested by the police following the incident. The statue, which had been inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi in November 2023, collapsed on August 26, nine months later.

Patil argued that he had only provided a stability report for the platform on which the statue stood, and that too at the request of a friend. The court, while granting bail, noted that Patil's report pertained solely to the pedestal, which remained undamaged despite the statue’s collapse.

Another individual, sculptor Jaydeep Apte, also arrested in connection with the incident, had his bail plea rejected by the session court. Apte has approached the high court, which has scheduled a hearing for his bail application on November 25.

In a separate development, a public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the high court seeking action against Public Works Department (PWD) officials responsible for the construction of the 40-foot statue. The PIL, filed by former journalist Ketan Tirodkar, alleges that the statue was built without conducting necessary environmental assessments or considering factors like wind speed. It also claims that the materials used, including corrosive ingredients and poorly fitted nuts and bolts, contributed to the statue's collapse.

Furthermore, the PIL argues that the state is responsible for the international embarrassment caused by the incident, with the statue falling just nine months after its inauguration.