UPSC Coaching Deaths: Should Basement Owners Be Granted Bail? Delhi HC Seeks CBI's Reply To Plea

While hearing the case, Justice Sharma called the incident was very unfortunate, and said that the present matter should not be an ordinary case. 

Today, the court permitted the father of one of the deceased student to file a short reply to the bail pleas.

Source : PTI

The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to CBI on the bail petitions of jailed co-owners of the Old Rajinder Nagar coaching centre basement, where three civil services aspirants died after drowning in July.

A bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma sought the central probe agency's response to the notice to the agency on the bail applications of the co-owners of the basement, Parvinder Singh, Tajinder Singh, Harvinder Singh and Sarbjit Singh. The matter is next listed on September 11.

While hearing the case, Justice Sharma called the incident was very unfortunate, and said that the present matter should not be an ordinary case. 

The High Court further directed the CBI to present concrete evidence with respect to the accountability of the basement co-owners. 

Three civil services aspirants Shreya Yadav (25), Tanya Soni (25) and Nevin Delvin (24), died after the basement of the Rau's IAS Study Circle was flooded following heavy rain on July 27 evening. Today, the court permitted the father of one of the deceased student to file a short reply to the bail pleas.

The case was transferred from the Delhi Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the high court.

A trial court earlier rejected the bail applications moved by the accused, saying the CBI probe was at an initial stage and their specific roles had to be ascertained. 

Four co-owners of the building of the coaching centre where three UPSC aspirants lost their lives to an unfortunate incident of flooding in the library in the basement of Old Rajinder Nagar, had approached the Delhi High Court seeking bail after the trial court had denied them bail in the case. 

They have contended that the trial court failed to consider the fact that as co-owners of the basement, they had voluntarily surrendered to the investigating officer, despite not being named in the FIR. The trial court while denying bail to the co-owners of the basements said that even though they voluntarily surrendered before police, it was not sufficient grounds to release them on bail.

The trial court held that the arrest of these 4 joint owners arose from their illegal act of permitting the basement to be used as a coaching institute.

The petition in high court contends that as co-owners, they had merely given the basement and third floor on lease to the coaching institute for running the coaching centre. And this activity is in compliance with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) norms.