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The plea states that the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister are responsible for the deaths as proper arrangements were not made by them for the event.
A Public Interest Litigation has been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking action against Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde, and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for death of 14 people who died due to sunstroke during an event wherein 'Maharashtra Bhushan' was being awarded to Dattatreya Narayan Dharmadhikari.
The PIL filed by one Shaila Kanthe, a practicing lawyer, through Advocate Nitin Satpute states that other than the 14 deceased people, 1500 more people were admitted to 100 different hospitals.
The plea states that the government had sanctioned Rs. 14 Crore for the event however there was no arrangement of water for the people.
“Respondent No. 1 & 2 has sanction 14 crore for this event, and contract given to their favorite agency. All the money paid to them was of public money, the taxes paid by the citizens. Afte paying 14 crore for this event, there was no any water available for the people, police were carrying water jar for people,” the plea reads.
The plea further states that the function was held at 11:00 AM in the morning whereas it should have been held in the evening as most of Maharashtra was reeling under a severe heatwave since the second week of April.
Moreover, it states that there was no roof or tents to protect the public from the intense heat of the afternoon and that the government had set up two temporary tents for VIPs while everyone else sat on the ground in the scorching heat for nearly 5 to 8 Hours.
The petition has called the said ceremony organized by the state government a political move by the Shinde-BJP government.
“The Congress-NCP Government Honoured Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari With The Same Maharashtra Bhushan Award In 2008, Posthumously. Now, A Year Ahead Of The General And Assembly Elections Scheduled For 2024, The Current Dispensation Decided To Honour His Son With The Same Award, Also Eyeing The Same Political Gains, But Ended Up Causing A Humanitarian Tragedy;” the plea states.
The petition has sought registration of FIR against the organisers of the event including the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister for the death of 14 people. Further, it has sought direction from the court on the said case that after the registration of the FIR, it is transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Further, the plea has sought direction to be issued to the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister to pay a sum of Rs 50 lakhs to be paid to the family of the deceased and Rs 5 lakhs to the injured people.
Case title: Shaila Jitendra Kanthe vs Chief Minister of State of Maharashtra
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