High court orders action against two former municipal commissioners

They were guilty of dereliction of duty, observes HC

• Vadodara boat tragedy

The Gujarat High Court has asked the state government to take disciplinary action against two former municipal commissioners of Vadodara for a boat capsizing tragedy, observing that they were guilty of dereliction of duty and misuse of position.

A boat capsized in Harni lake in Vadodara city on January 18 this year, killing 12 school children and two teachers of a private school who were out on a picnic.

In its order last week on a suo motu PIL regarding the tragedy, a division bench led by Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal said that Kotia Projects, which operated and managed the lake at the time, "cannot be said to be a qualified bidder in the process and, as such, there was no question of its selection." The order became available on Tuesday.