Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court is expected to deliver its ruling on August 23 regarding the bail applications of four detained co-owners of a coaching center basement where three civil service aspirants drowned last month.
Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna reserved the order on Saturday after hearing arguments from both the CBI and the accused—Parvinder Singh, Tajinder Singh, Harvinder Singh, and Sarbjit Singh.
During the proceedings, the accused argued that the incident was an “act of God” that could have been avoided if civic agencies had fulfilled their duties. “It was an act of God that happened, and it could have been avoided had the civic agencies performed their onerous duties, which they have miserably failed to do,” the advocate for the accused stated.
The defense counsel contended that the basement was not a library but a waiting area for students before their classes began. He claimed that a fire department inspection conducted a few days before the incident found the basement used for storage purposes and deemed the building safe and suitable for running an educational center.
The counsel further argued that to invoke the section for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, there must be both intent to commit the crime and knowledge of its possible consequences. “Where is the intent? If I rented out the property thinking that one day it would rain and result in death, there must be a clear proximate link,” he added.
He also emphasized that establishing negligence requires a direct link between the actions and the deaths. The accused’s lawyer stated that the four individuals were not evading arrest but had voluntarily reported to the police station after learning about the incident.
The Delhi High Court recently transferred the investigation into the deaths in the basement of the coaching center in Old Rajinder Nagar from the police to the CBI “to ensure that the public has no doubts about the investigation.”
