Delhi Coaching Centre Tragedy: Court Seeks CBI Response on Bail Pleas of Basement Co-Owners

Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court issued a notice to the CBI on Wednesday (August 7) regarding the bail applications of four jailed co-owners of a coaching centre basement where three civil service aspirants recently drowned. Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna directed the central probe agency to file its response by August 9, the scheduled date for hearing the bail applications of the four accused: Parvinder Singh, Tajinder Singh, Harvinder Singh, and Sarbjit Singh.

While issuing the notice, the court observed that it could not decide on the bail applications because the copy of the FIR had not been presented.

The Delhi High Court recently transferred the investigation into the deaths in the coaching centre basement in Old Rajinder Nagar from the police to the CBI to ensure public confidence in the investigation.

Judge Chandna issued the notice to the CBI after the public prosecutor informed the court that the case transfer process from the Delhi Police was not yet complete and the case had not been registered by the agency. Meanwhile, the advocate for the accused argued that his clients did not attempt to evade the law; instead, they voluntarily went to the police station to join the probe on July 28 after learning about the tragedy.

The advocate further contended that the sections imposed on the four accused, who are merely landowners who had leased the property to Rau’s IAS, pertain to culpable homicide not amounting to murder and death by negligence, which he argued are contradictory in nature. He also requested that the court grant interim relief since the case had not yet been registered by the CBI.

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