Mumbai: A sessions court on Thursday granted bail to a welder accused in the fatal Metro Line 4 parapet collapse in Mulund, citing the principle of parity and the fact that custodial interrogation is no longer required. Ramashish Yadav is the last accused to get bail in the case.Additional sessions judge M B Oza observed that “the accident has occurred suddenly” and that “custodial interrogation is already over and nothing more is to be recovered from him.“The accused is poor labour and his family depends on him. It will take time for filing of chargesheet, beginning of trial and conclusion. No purpose will be served by keeping him behind the bar for a long period. The trial will take a long time. The investigation of IO (investigating officer) will not be affected, if this accused is released on bail,” the judge said.The incident, which occurred on February 14, resulted in the death of one man and caused serious injuries to three others when a concrete precast parapet of the elevated structure fell onto an autorickshaw and a car on LBS Marg. The prosecution alleged that Yadav, an employee of Milan Road Buildtech LLP, failed to effectively concretise the structure after its installation and neglected to inform authorities about the potential hazard. It was argued that Yadav and other supervisors acted with the knowledge that the structure was prone to collapse, failing to take basic safety precautions.The defence contended that Yadav was a mere daily wage labourer acting under the direct instructions of site managers and engineers, several of whom had already been granted bail.While the investigating officer opposed the plea on the grounds that Yadav had initially absconded to Uttar Pradesh and that the offence was of a serious nature, the court noted that Yadav had already spent over two months in jail.The order also noted that since the project managers and engineers — who held higher degrees of responsibility — were already out on bail, the welder was entitled to similar relief.
