The Morbi Suspension Bridge Collapse

“The bridge has been renovated and made safe for the public; it can bear the load of visitors during the festival season.”

— Oreva Group (Ajanta Manufacturing Pvt Ltd), Private clock-and-electronics company awarded a 15-year contract by Morbi Municipality to operate, maintain and collect ticket revenue from the bridge · 26 October 2022

Oreva reopened the bridge on 26 October 2022, in time for Diwali and Gujarati New Year, after a roughly seven-month renovation, without obtaining a structural fitness or load-bearing certificate from any competent authority, and sold tickets for entry without any cap on the number of people allowed on the bridge at once.

A public suspension bridge reopened to paying visitors only after structural renovation is certified by qualified engineers, with a maximum-occupancy limit enforced and administered under a valid, monitored municipal contract.

Standard municipal public-safety obligations for structures open to the public, and the terms of the Morbi Municipality's own maintenance contract with Oreva.

In force from 26 October 2022

On the evening of 30 October 2022, the bridge — packed with an estimated 300-plus people, several times any safe limit — snapped and collapsed into the Machchhu river, killing 135 people including many women and children. A forensic examination found the original 19th-century steel suspension cables had simply been cleaned and repainted rather than replaced, along with rusted anchor pins and loose flooring bolts; no structural or load-safety audit had been carried out before reopening, and the renovation contractors engaged were not qualified structural engineers. Ten people, including Oreva Group managing director Jaysukh Patel, were chargesheeted with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other offences in a more than 1,200-page charge sheet. As of mid-2026, formal charges have still not been framed by the Morbi sessions court and the trial has not begun; the court has rejected discharge applications from the accused, and the Gujarat High Court has declined demands for a CBI probe.

As of 1 June 2026

1. 26 Oct 2022Announcement
   Bridge reopens after renovation

   Oreva Group reopened the bridge to the public in time for Diwali and Gujarati New Year without a structural safety certificate.

2. 30 Oct 2022Status
   Bridge collapses

   The suspension bridge, overloaded with visitors, snapped and fell into the Machchhu river, killing 135 people.

3. 1 Nov 2022Status
   First arrests made

   Gujarat police arrested Oreva Group managers, ticket clerks and security staff on charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

4. 31 Jan 2023Status
   Oreva MD Jaysukh Patel surrenders

   Jaysukh Patel, the Oreva Group managing director, surrendered before a Morbi court and was sent into judicial custody.

5. 1 Mar 2023Status
   Chargesheet filed

   Police filed a more than 1,200-page chargesheet naming ten accused, including Jaysukh Patel, citing a forensic report that found rusted cables and unqualified repair contractors.

6. 1 Jun 2026Delay
   Charges still not framed

   More than three years after the chargesheet, the Morbi sessions court had yet to frame formal charges; the trial was expected to begin only around mid-2026.

Ten people were chargesheeted with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and related offences. No charges have yet been formally framed by the trial court and no trial has begun; all ten remain presumed innocent.

• No trial has begun as of the most recent reporting reviewed (mid-2026); this investigation cannot report a verdict or sentence for any of the ten accused.
• Civil compensation amounts paid to victims' families by the Gujarat government and Oreva Group vary across sources and were not independently reconciled here.
• Whether Morbi Municipality officials who awarded or oversaw the maintenance contract face separate departmental or criminal liability was not conclusively established in sources reviewed.