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Synopsis

The Rouse Avenue Court, on Saturday, extended the interim bail of Abhishek Gupta, the CEO and Owner of Rau's IAS Study Circle for his involvement in the drowning of three civil aspirants in the basement of the coaching center.

Principal District & Sessions Judge- cum-Special Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna listed the matter for further adjudication on January 31, 2024. 

Abhishek Gupta through Senior Advocate Rebecca John had filed an application seeking regular bail or an extension of interim bail. 

Gupta had challenged the matter before the Delhi High Court, specifically contesting the condition imposed for the payment of ₹2.5 crores. The High Court had extended the interim bail of the building owners, who had approached the court for regular bail, until January 21, 2025. 

On behalf of the victims, Advocate Abhijit Anand informed the court that a petition was filed before the High Court challenging the interim bail granted by this court. It was argued that the interim bail should not be extended. 

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also submitted that the charge sheet was filed and cognizance was taken by the Learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) at Rouse Avenue. However, further investigation into the case was still ongoing.

Background: 

Students had approached the High Court, seeking the establishment of a high-level committee to investigate the deaths of these civil aspirants.

During the hearing, the bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela questioned the police regarding the reasons for arresting a passerby driver. The bench expressed dismay over the government's actions, noting that the government was shifting blame for such incidents without any particular authority taking accountability. 

However, in an unusual turn of events, the Tis Hazari Court denied bail to the SUV driver on the same day. Judicial Magistrate Vinod Kumar noted that the allegations against the SUV driver were serious, observing that CCTV footage showed him driving the vehicle on an already waterlogged road at high speed, causing a large displacement of water. The court further observed that the gate of the premises gave way, allowing water to enter the basement, resulting in the loss of three innocent lives.

However, the driver was soon discharged after the police decided to drop the harsher charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. 

Later, the high court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate the deaths of three civil aspirants who were drowned after the casement of a coaching center was flooded. 

The high court, thereafter, granted interim bail to the owners of the basement involved in the tragic flooding incident. The court directed the basement owners to pay 5 crores to the Red Cross Society. The amount is to be ‘used for the student welfare and for the purpose of streamlining the functioning of coaching centers in Delhi’.