The Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked the state government whether the Indian Navy or the state’s Public Works Department (PWD) had inspected the site at Malvan in Sindhudurg district before installing the bust of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj that collapsed in August. this year.
Justice Anil S Kilor was hearing the bail application filed by Jaideep Apte, the sculptor of the 35-foot statue, through advocate Ganesh Sovani. Apte approached the High Court after the Sessions Court dismissed the bail plea. Justice Keelor ​​sought details from the state government and adjourned the hearing till December 9.
Earlier this month, the HC had granted bail to a structural consultant arrested in connection with the fall of the statue inaugurated on December 4, 2023 at the Rajkot Fort in Malvan.
The Sessions Court has shown that the quality of the work has improved as the statue collapsed within a few months of its construction.
Apte claimed in his plea that the sessions court failed to consider that the FIR was filed in haste by a civil engineer with no expertise in metallurgy and that the case was not based on any scientific report.