The Delhi High Court has granted bail to four joint owners of basement in Delhi Coaching Centre Deaths case.

The Court was deciding Applications filed under Section 483 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), seeking bail.

A Single Bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula said, “In such situation, the court, on a prima facie view, finds merit in the contention that the role of the Applicants was limited to being owners of property where the incident occurred. Moreover, the investigation regarding the aspect of corruption, is stated to be pending on the end of the CBI. However, there is no material placed on record either in the status report or otherwise, to indicate any corruption angle in the present petition against the Applicants. On a specific query put by this court, Mr. Kumar submits that, at this stage, he cannot make any comment on the role of the Applicants in relation to corruption allegations. Based on these considerations, the Court finds this a fit case for grant of bail.”

Senior Advocates Mohit Kumar and Amit Chadha appeared on behalf of the Applicants while SPP Rajesh Kumar appeared on behalf of the Respondent.

Brief Facts

As per the prosecution, a case was registered in August 2024 pursuant to an Order of the High Court. The Court while transferring the investigation of the case from Delhi Police to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), directed to probe the incident of flooding in the basement of a coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar wherein three students lost their lives. It also directed to probe the potential involvement of corruption or negligence/inaction by the public servants or by any other persons punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PC Act) or under other applicable laws and offences. The investigation revealed that the coaching institute by the name of ‘RAU’s IAS Study Circle’, was being run in the building at BP-11, Bara Bazar, Old Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi which had basement, stilt/parking, ground floor, first floor, second floor and third floor.

All the floors including basement were used by the said coaching centre. Specifically, the basement was being used for the purpose of Library/ Exam Hall, where students used to sit throughout the day for studying as well as for taking test conducted by the coaching institute. The investigation further revealed that on July 27, 2024 at about 6:30 p.m., several students were studying in the library located in the basement of said Coaching Institute and it was raining in the locality. The rainwater quickly flooded the ground floor after the sudden collapse of the main building’s sliding gates, which then caused water to enter the basement, resulting in flooding. While most of the students managed to escape, three students died. It was also revealed that the Applicants were the joint owners of the said basement.

Reasoning

The High Court in view of the facts and circumstances of the case, observed, “… clauses 5.7.2, 5.7.4 and 5.7.8 of the lease deed makes it clear that it was the responsibility of the Lessee to obtain necessary permissions from the local authorities for conducting their business, that the Lessee was permitted to carry out necessary modifications to the scheduled property and that the Lessee was required to operate as per the mandate and bye laws of DDA/MCD or other local authorities.”

As the Applicants wished to make a voluntary donation of Rs. 5 lakhs, the Court directed them to deposit the said amount within two weeks with Delhi State Legal Services Authority, towards the welfare of the families of the deceased.

“The member secretary, DSLSA, shall then consider the claims from the families of deceased and issue direction for disbursal of the said amount after due consideration”, it added.

The Court further clarified that the Trial Court is at liberty to award compensation, if any, in addition to the aforesaid amount, upon conclusion of trial.

Accordingly, the High Court disposed of the Applications and granted bail to the accused persons.

Cause Title- Parvinder Singh v. Central Bureau of Investigation

Appearance:

Applicants: Senior Advocates Mohit Mathur, Amit Chadha, Advocates Daksh Gupta, Gaurav Dua, Kaushal Jeet Kait, Jatin Yadav, Harsh Gautam, Vignesh, Sarthak Sethi, and Atin Chadha.

Respondent: SPP Rajesh Kumar, Advocates Mohd. Changez Ali Khan, Abhijit Anand, Tisha Kaushik, Niyoti Dayma, and Prachi Mittal.

Click here to read/download the Order