Seven years on, Takshashila victims’ parents seek swift justice

Surat: Seven years after the Takshashila Arcade fire killed 22 students and exposed deep cracks in urban safety, grieving parents are still waiting for justice, with repeated court delays, absent witnesses and all accused out on bail in the high-profile case.

Relatives of the victims say the prolonged trial has compounded their trauma and have renewed their demand for the case to be heard in fast-track mode. They have also raised concerns over the failure of key witnesses, including officers who were part of the investigation, to appear before the trial court.

One parent, Dinesh Kevadiya, who lost his daughter Yashvi, approached the Supreme Court in Dec 2025 by filing a public interest litigation. The petition had pleas pertaining to disaster management protocols, implementation of the national building code and time-bound hearings in cases involving multiple fatalities.

“The Supreme Court issued notice returnable in four weeks to the state govt six months ago after my appeal. Since then, there has been no development in the SC,” Kevadiya told TOI. He is appearing as party-in-person in the matter.

Parents said they have repeatedly taken up the issue with local authorities and the state govt, urging a speedy trial.

“A quick trial is needed so that we get justice and similar tragedies can be prevented. In the last few hearings, key witnesses who were part of the police investigation team did not turn up in court, which has further delayed the case,” said Jaysukh Gajera, father of one of the deceased students.

Public prosecutor P. N. Parmar said the court has taken note of the absences. “Police officers who were part of the investigation did not remain present on two recent dates. After that, the court issued bailable warrants against them. Hopefully they will remain present at the next hearing,” he said.

Fourteen persons were arrested in connection with the case, and all are currently out on bail. Of them, eight are govt officers, five are builders and one is the coaching class owner.

The accused include Jignesh Paghdar, administrator of the building; Savji Paghdar, Harsukh Vekariya, Ravindra Kahar and Dinesh Vekariya, the building owners; Bhargav Butani, the coaching class owner; Parag Munshi and Jayesh Solanki, executive engineers of the Surat Municipal Corporation who cleared the project file; Vinu Parmar and Himanshu Gajjar, deputy engineers; Atul Gorsawala, junior engineer; Sanjay Acharya, deputy chief fire officer; Kirti Modh, fire officer; and Dipak Naik, deputy engineer of Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Ltd.