Telangana High Court Grants Conditional Bail to Sigachi Industries MD in Factory Explosion Case

The Telangana High Court has granted conditional bail to Amith Raj Sinha, the managing director (MD) of Sigachi Industries Ltd, in connection with the explosion at the company’s Pashamylaram factory in Sangareddy district that killed 54 people and left several injured on June 30 last year. Sinha, accused no 2 in the First Information Report (FIR) registered at BDL Bhanoor police station and charged under sections 105, 110, 118(1) and 118(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), was arrested on December 27. In an order dated February 2, Justice K Sujana took into consideration that the investigation is already complete and a chargesheet has been filed. The court also noted that the petitioner was cooperating with the investigation before coming to the conclusion that custodial interrogation of the petitioner was not required. The court directed the petitioner to execute a personal bond of Rs 1,00,000 with two sureties of the same amount. The court directed him to abide by the conditions stipulated in Section 480(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. “The petitioner shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence or attempt to influence witnesses in any manner,” the judge stated. ‘Falsely implicated,’ claims defence Senior counsel S Niranjan Reddy, representing Sinha, submitted before the court that the petitioner was falsely implicated in the case only because of his designation as MD and CEO of the company. He contended that the unfortunate incident at best discloses regulatory lapses or negligence, which cannot be elevated to the threshold of culpable knowledge required under law. He added that the petitioner has cooperated with the investigation at all stages. The public prosecutor argued that inspection reports of the deputy chief inspector of factories and the findings of the five‑member expert committee categorically established that the management, including the petitioner, had full knowledge of the risks associated with MCC dust and hazardous machinery. They deliberately ignored mandatory safety protocols, employed untrained workers, failed to provide firefighting equipment and protective measures, and prioritised production targets over worker safety, thereby exhibiting gross negligence and callous disregard for human life, he contended. The court noted lapses on the part of the directors, as reported by the deputy chief inspector of factories, but held that it was a separate case filed by the authorities under the Factories Act. With directions, the criminal petition was allowed, and the petitioner was warned that any violation of the conditions laid by the court would give the prosecution the liberty to file a petition for cancellation of the bail.