The Gujarat High Court has declined to transfer the investigation into the 2022 Morbi bridge collapse to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), despite requests from the victims' families.

A division bench, consisting of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi, stated that it cannot assess the validity of the ongoing investigation.

The court was addressing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) initiated in response to the tragic incident on October 30, 2022, which resulted in the deaths of 135 individuals when a British-era suspension bridge over the Machchhu River collapsed.

Family members of the victims have called for a CBI-led reinvestigation, alleging that the Gujarat Police conducted an inadequate investigation and failed to hold any civic officials accountable, despite a Special Investigation Team identifying some as responsible.

A separate application filed last month argued that the then district collector participated in all meetings concerning the contract awarded to the Oreva Group for bridge maintenance, yet his statement was never recorded.

During a recent hearing, advocate Rahul Sharma, representing the victims, requested the addition of murder charges to the main FIR. Advocate General Kamal Trivedi informed the bench that a chargesheet had been filed last year, and the suspended chief officer of Morbi Nagarpalika is currently undergoing a disciplinary inquiry. When Sharma pressed for a reinvestigation, Chief Justice Agarwal remarked that such an order would exceed the scope of the PIL.

"The chargesheet has already been filed and cannot be challenged through a PIL. For that, you need to approach the concerned sessions court. This matter falls outside the scope of this PIL. There are remedies for criminal investigation; our focus is on compensation and rehabilitation," the chief justice stated, deeming the application as "misconceived."

Additionally, Chief Justice Agarwal clarified that the collector was not a signatory to the agreement with the Oreva Group.