The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday transferred a public interest litigation (PIL) concerning multiple recent bridge collapses in Bihar to the Patna High Court, citing the urgency and gravity of the matter.

A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar observed that the High Court would be better positioned to monitor the situation and conduct timely hearings.

"We are of the opinion that the present writ petition should be transferred to the High Court of Judicature at Patna, which can conduct expeditious and appropriate hearings from time to time," the court noted.

The Supreme Court also directed its registry to transfer the entire case record to the Patna High Court for further proceedings.

During the hearing, the petitioner, Advocate Brajesh Singh (appearing as party-in-person), flagged several instances of bridge collapses in the state, raising concerns about the government’s inaction and lack of accountability. The bench also criticized the Bihar government for its slow response in taking action against officials allegedly responsible for the collapse of three under-construction bridges.

In response, the counsel representing the State of Bihar informed the court that departmental proceedings had been initiated and the concerned officials had been suspended.

The PIL seeks directions to the Bihar government to conduct a comprehensive structural audit of all existing and under-construction bridges. Depending on the audit’s findings, the plea urges demolition or retrofitting of weak structures. The petitioner argues that within just two years, Bihar has witnessed the collapse of three major under-construction bridges and several other incidents involving bridges of various sizes—many resulting in casualties and injuries.

“These are not mere accidents but man-made disasters,” the plea contends, adding that the back-to-back collapses show no lessons have been learned and critical infrastructure safety is being neglected.

The petitioner also calls for the formation of a high-level expert committee to continuously monitor the condition of all bridges in Bihar and to maintain a comprehensive, real-time database on their structural health.

Highlighting the geographical vulnerability of Bihar—India’s most flood-prone state, with 68,800 sq. km or 73.06% of its land classified as flood-affected—the PIL stresses that such routine collapses have far more serious implications and threaten the lives of thousands.

The petition further urges the state government to adopt a robust real-time bridge monitoring policy, akin to that implemented by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Advocate-on-Record Kunal Yadav appeared for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Case Title: Brajesh Singh vs. State of Bihar