Four women get bail in Harni capsize case

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court on Wednesday granted bail to four women accused in the Harni boat capsize in which 14 people including 12 children and two teachers were killed on Jan 18.
Justice M R Mengdey ordered the four women — Tejal Doshi, Neha Doshi, Vaishakhi Shah and Nutan Shah — be released on a bail bond of Rs 10,000 each. They were arrested because they are the partners of Kotia Projects, the firm that was contracted by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) for development of the Motnath lake at Harni and management of recreational activities including boating.
While the lawyers argued that these women are partners of the firm and that they were not involved in the day-to-day affairs of the company, state govt opposed their bail pleas by stressing the gravity of the mishap.
The victims opposed the bail applications saying the partners of the firm cannot be absolved of their public liability.
The HC granted the women conditional bail with the observation, “There is nothing on record indicating the direct involvement of any of the present applicants in the present offence nor have any of the applicants signed any of the agreements that were entered into between the respective parties for running the boating activity in Harni Lake. There is also nothing on record to indicate that the present applicants were ever part of any decision-making process regarding the boating activity.”
The tragedy happened on Jan 18, 2024 and the Harni police had registered an FIR under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code against 18 persons, including the partners of Kotia Projects.