MUMBAI: A sessions court has refused regular bail to Abdul Wahid Abdul Hakeem Idrisi, the contractor’s son accused in the July 5 Mankhurd building collapse that claimed six lives, observing that there was prima facie evidence he helped construct the unauthorised building despite knowing it lacked necessary permissions. The court also said granting him bail at this stage could hamper the ongoing investigation.
Event Context
The order was passed on Friday, a day after additional sessions judge RM Jadhav rejected the anticipatory bail applications of his father and alleged contractor Abdul Hakim Rahmatullah Idrisi, and the building’s alleged owner, Tayyeb Ali Yusuf Qureshi, in the same case.
Jadhav said the prosecution material showed Abdul Wahid, along with his father, had acted as contractors for the four-storey structure and knew it had been built without approval from the competent authority.
Team Analysis
Rejecting the plea, the judge also considered the prosecution’s submission that Abdul Hakim Idrisi remains absconding and that Abdul Wahid is a resident of Rudrapur in Uttar Pradesh. Observing the gravity of the offence and the fact that the investigation is at an initial stage, the court held that, “it would not be desirable in the interest of the justice to exercise the discretionary power to grant bail… to ensure fair and proper investigation.”
Police have alleged the building was illegally constructed about four years ago without permission and collapsed onto an adjoining hut in Mankhurd on the night of July 5, killing five members of one family and the informant’s granddaughter. Police claim Qureshi got the building constructed through Abdul Wahid and his father despite being aware that it was structurally unsafe.
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The court also referred to an earlier incident in which a tile allegedly fell from the building and injured a rickshaw driver. According to the order, the incident had been reported to Abdul Wahid before the building collapsed.
“Prima facie, there is material to believe that the applicant/accused having knowledge of the fact that the illegal structure raised by him is dangerous to human safety and life allowed to continue the same due to which the incident in question occurred in which six persons… died,” the judge said.
