Quash culpable homicide case, says Ravi Bhandari

Mumbai: Ravi Bhandari, a director of Kamala Mills Ltd., has approached the Bombay high court, seeking to quash the culpable homicide case registered against him in connection with the fire that broke out at Kamala Mills on December 29, 2017.

Mr Bhandari's lawyer put forth the petition before a division bench of justices B.R. Gavai and B.P. Colabawala on Thursday.

The bench has posted the petition for hearing after two weeks. While admitting the petition for hearing, the bench clarified that pendency of this petition will have no effect on hearing of the bail plea filed by Mr Bhandari before a Sessions court. Mr Bhandari was arrested by the local police last month.

According to the petitioner, section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC is not applicable to him because it was an accident and he did not have any knowledge or intention of such an incident occurring.

He contended that at the most, he could be booked under section 304 (A) (death due to negligence) of the IPC, a bailable section.

The massive fire that broke out at two high-profile open terrace pubs i.e. Mojo's Bistro and 1Above on December 29 last year killed 14 people and injured several others. Following the incident, the police has arrested 13 persons who are either partners or workers in the two pubs, fire and BMC officers, or directors of Kamala Mills where the pubs are located. The police has even arrested the kin of one of the accused for helping him dodge the police however he was later granted bail.

Meanwhile, the magistrate court has rejected bail pleas filed by almost all the accused, of whom, Yug Pathak and Yug Tuli of Mojo's Bistro have moved the Sessions court seeking bail.