Shivaji statue collapse: HC grants bail to structural consultant Chetan Patil

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday granted bail to Chetan Patil, the structural consultant for the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj that collapsed in Malvan, Sindhudurg, in August.
A single bench of justice AS Kilor said that Patil could not be implicated in the case as he had not been appointed as the structural designer of the statue. The bench said that the Kolhapur resident had only submitted a structural stability report for the pedestal on which the 35-foot statue stood, noting that the pedestal was intact even after the collapse.
The court has posted the bail plea of Jaydeep Apte, the sculptor whose firm got the contractor for the statue, for hearing on November 25.
The Malvan police had filed a case against Apte and Patil for negligence and other offences. They were both arrested days after the statue collapsed on August 26.
According to the FIR registered by the Malvan police, the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai had commissioned the statue, and Apte’s company, M/s Artistry, was given the contract for its erection. The FIR added that the statue and its base were constructed under Patil’s supervision.
The FIR also mentions that the local public works department (PWD) had noticed rust on the statue during a routine checkup six days before the collapse. It added that the PWD had informed Apte’s firm about local residents’ apprehensions that the statue might collapse, thereby posing a threat to the lives of people visiting the Rajkot Fort, where it was located.
The 35-foot statue of the Maratha warrior king collapsed less than nine months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled it on December 4, 2023, as part of the Navy Day celebrations at Sindhudurg beach. The incident sparked widespread outrage across Maharashtra and snowballed into a major political storm ahead of the state assembly elections. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi slammed the ruling Mahayuti alliance, alleging corruption in constructing the statue, and demanded an investigation.
The Maharashtra government, which paid ₹2.44 crore to install the statue, appointed a committee under additional chief secretary (PWD) Manisha Patankar Mhaiskar to suggest ways to erect a new statue. The state government also formed a technical committee, headed by naval officer Commodore Pawan Dhingra, to investigate the reasons behind the statue’s collapse.
According to the technical committee’s investigation report, submitted in September, factors such as a rusted structure, faulty design, poor maintenance and poor welding led to the statue’s collapse. The report noted that the statue’s frame was not strong enough to bear its weight.