The Madras High Court bench here on Wednesday granted conditional bail to the owner of a fireworks factory at Kinnimangalam in Madurai district where four workers were killed and 16 others injured on September 24 following an explosion.
Justice C.T. Selvam granted bail to C. Sumathi, the owner of Anantham Fireworks, and directed her to execute a personal surety for Rs.10,000, and to report to the Chekkanoorani police station every day.
The petitioner was arrested by the Chekkanoorani police on a complaint given by the Kinnimangalam Village Administrative Officer.
The prosecution had opposed the bail, contending that the petitioner had mishandled the explosives in the unit causing the death of four persons.
In her petition, the petitioner claimed that she had provided Rs.6 lakh compensation to the families of each of the four victims. She had not mishandled the explosives as alleged by the prosecution, she contended.
According to the petitioner, she had followed the prescribed safety norms. The licence for her factory was renewed from time to time and if the petitioner had failed to fulfil the safety norms her licence would have been revoked, she argued.
