Bombay High Court Grants Interim Protection To Builder In Jogeshwari Cement Block Death Case

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted, till October 27, interim protection from coercive action to builder Bhavesh Gulabchand Sanghrajka, 43, who is facing arrest in connection with the death of 22-year-old Sanskruti Amin, killed after a cement block fell on her from his under-construction building in Jogeshwari (East) on October 8.

Sanghrajka, who runs M/s Shraddha Lifestyle LLP, moved the HC after a sessions court rejected his plea for anticipatory bail. His counsel Rishi Bhuta said that the tragedy was “purely accidental” and not due to any negligence or intent on his part; and that he was not even present on the site.

According to the FIR, Sanskruti left home around 9.30am on the day of the incident. Her father, Anil Umesh Amin, 56, on hearing a loud noise, rushed out to find her lying in a pool of blood. Eyewitnesses told him that a white cement block had fallen from the top of an under-construction building. Two co-accused, identified as Gaurav Sondgar and Shambhukumar Palat Paswan, were arrested on October 11. Their bail pleas are pending before the sessions court.

Sanghrajka contended that the FIR was “illegal, baseless and devoid of facts and law”, and amounted to a “misuse of process of law and infringement of liberty”. He further argued that there was no “legal, cogent, trustworthy or reliable material” linking him to the incident. The builder, who claims 20 years of experience in the real estate industry, said he had completed several projects successfully and maintained an “unblemished professional reputation”.

His plea emphasised that safety nets had been installed at the site and that all statutory compliances were met. “The prosecution relied upon certain photographs to show wear and tear in the safety nets, which by no stretch of imagination could show that the applicant had knowledge that a cement block could fall through those holes and cause the unfortunate incident,” the plea stated. Following the incident, the BMC issued a stop-work notice on October 8, and construction has remained at a standstill since.

The FIR was registered on the complaint of Sanskruti’s father at Meghwadi police station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to culpable negligence resulting in death. On October 29, the sessions court rejected the builder’s pre-arrest bail plea noting that the safety measures at the site were grossly inadequate.

“It appears that utmost care and precautionary measures, as mandated under the commencement certificate, were not followed,” the court said. It emphasised the need for a detailed investigation to ascertain individual responsibility for the fatal accident.

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