Mumbai Ghatkopar Hoarding Collapse Case: Sessions Court Grants Bail To Ego Media Director Bhavesh Bhinde, Citing No Direct Involvement

Mumbai: The sessions court on Saturday granted bail to Bhavesh Bhinde, 50, director of hoarding firm Ego Media Pvt Ltd, arrested in connection with the hoarding collapse in Ghatkopar in May.

Bhinde was arrested on May 17. He has moved the bail plea before the sessions court through his lawyer Sana Khan, claiming that he had no role in the said incident.

The plea reads, “He (Bhinde) became a director of the company, Ego Media Pvt Ltd, from December 21, 2023, by which time the said hoarding was already erected and advertisements were being displayed thereon. As a result, no fault, liability can be ascribed to him as he merely took over the management of the company from the date mentioned.”

Further, Bhinde has claimed that the hoarding collapsed not due to improper, faulty construction, but because of “force majeure” (act of god). Besides, it was argued that BMC had no jurisdiction over the land and the hoarding was constructed after obtaining permission from the Commissioner of Police (Railways).

Besides, he cited an opinion taken from Justice (retd) AV Nirgude, who opined that the land bearing survey would be classified as a land belonging to the railways, and that the BMC has no power to either regulate any advertisements or charge license fee on it.

The plea was objected by the prosecution saying there were enough evidence to show Bhinde was actively involed in the case. Besides, previous director Jhanvi Marathe had claimed that all the processing was done by Bhinde.