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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court, on Friday, granted interim bail to the owners of the basement involved in the tragic flooding incident, which resulted in the deaths of three civil aspirants. 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’. 

The bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma remarked “In such cases where commercial ventures are in violation of norms/law the accused persons may be asked to contribute for the cause of creation of corpus to meet such situations”. 

The case stemmed from a petition filed by civil aspirants seeking directions to establish a high-level committee to investigate the events leading to the students' deaths. The bench, consisting of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, noted that the incident was caused by to negligence of the government. The bench observed that despite numerous orders against MCD to maintain stormwater drains, the department had taken no action.

The high court further noted that the police had arrested a passeby SUV driver who was accused of causing the basement flood by driving through a rain-flooded street, which allegedly led to the water breaching the building’s gates. The high court therefore drected the CBI to conduct probe into the incident. 

But the trial court denied his request for bail, citing CCTV footage that showed him driving at high speed on an already waterlogged road. However, bail was granted to the driver after the police removed the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder from the chargesheet.

The trial court also denied bail to four co-owners of the Rau IAS Coaching Center in connection with the tragic deaths. Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna noted that the basement, intended for storage according to an August 9, 2021, occupancy certificate from the Fire Department, was unlawfully used as a study hall. 

The basement owners therefore approached the High Court seeking bail, on grounds that the have been under arrest since July 28, 2024. Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur, representing owners, further contended that the responsibility of the incident still remained unclear. Senior Advocate Mathur argued that the primary causes were heavy rainfall, drainage system failure, and civic authorities' negligence. He highlighted the Deputy Commissioner of the MCD's admission that the stormwater drain near RAU’s IAS Study Circle was non-functional, contending that the basement’s leasing had no direct link to the incident. 

Special Public Prosecutor Rajesh Kumar, representing the CBI, stated that all floors, including the basement, were used by RAU’s IAS Study Circle, which utilized the basement as a library and exam hall. The SPP argued that the petitioners had leased the property in violation of the basement’s approved usage, with both parties knowingly using it for commercial purposes.

Advocate Abhijit Anand, representing the complainants, argued that the actions of the basement owners led to the deaths of three students and injuries to approximately 70 others, constituting an offence against the society. He highlighted the tragic loss of Nevin Dalvin, a promising JNU scholar who had cleared IAS (Mains), and contended that the MCD's occupancy certificate violated the Unified Building Bye-Laws for Delhi, 2016.

The court noted that despite previous warnings about unauthorized coaching centers, no action was taken. It criticized the recurring negligence by both administration and individuals prioritizing profit over safety.  The court also noted that the people who claimed to educate children did not care for their lives.

“Parents of such students send their children to the coaching institute shelling out substantial money from their hard-earned income with an aspiration that their children will become something in their lives. It is unimaginable that the parents get back the dead bodies of their children on account of such an unfortunate incident”, the court outlined. 

The court stressed the need for authorities to address these issues and therefore, held that “the time has come that now the administration has to awake from the deep slumber and has to take appropriate steps”. 

As a remedial measure, the court recommended that the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi establish a committee, preferably led by a former judge, to audit coaching centers and ensure they operate safely. This committee would provide recommendations for granting licenses only to compliant centers, with a report expected within three months. 

On the issue of bail, the court noted the need to balance the rights of individuals and the rights of the citizen. The court noted that the individuals in custody, whose freedom was restricted, had a right to be granted bail unless exceptional circumstances were present. On the other hand, society had a right to demand that the wrongdoer be dealt with strictly. however, the court emphasized that "detention during trial cannot be a punitive measure" and therefore granted interim bail to the basement owners till November 30, 2024.

The court noted the need for some arrangement to streamline the system and create a corpus for providing compensation to such victims. Hence, the court directed the basement owners to deposit 5 crores to the Red Cross Society. 

Case Title: Parvinder Singh v Central Bureau Of Investigation (BAIL APPLN. 3089/2024)