On Wednesday, the Gujarat High Court postponed the hearing for the interim bail request of Jaysukh Patel, the Managing Director of Oreva Group. Patel is the primary accused in the case related to the collapse of a bridge in Morbi last year, an incident that resulted in the tragic loss of 135 lives.

Justice Divyesh A Joshi's court refused to expedite the hearing of the request made by Patel's lawyer, Nirupam Nanavati, for interim bail while waiting for his regular bail application. Instead, the court scheduled the interim bail application for October 27, which is the same day when Patel's regular bail plea is set to be heard.

On October 30 of the previous year, the suspension bridge over the Machchhu river in Morbi, Gujarat, which dated back to the British era, collapsed. This tragic incident resulted in the loss of 135 lives and left 56 individuals injured.

The Oreva Group, headquartered in Rajkot, was entrusted with the responsibility for maintaining and operating the bridge in question.

The report from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the state government emphasized "significant operational and technical deficiencies" on the part of the Oreva Group in relation to the tragedy.

On October 10, the report was presented to the high court, which is overseeing a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding the tragedy.

According to the SIT's report, the collapse of the bridge was attributed to a "failure at the administrative level to adhere to government regulations and procedures, as well as technical inadequacies in repairing and testing the bridge before it was opened to the public."

The report stated that the careless and indifferent attitude of the Oreva company's management resulted in "one of the most severe and tragic human calamities," a situation that cannot be tolerated or overlooked.

In this case, a total of 10 individuals have been identified as accused, including Patel, two managers from his company, two sub-contractors who were involved in the bridge's repair, three security guards, and two ticket booking clerks.

These individuals have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, acts endangering human life, rash or negligent acts, among others.