Old Rajendra Nagar deaths: Court rejects bail plea by 4 basement owners

A Delhi court on Friday denied bail to the four co-owners of the coaching centre basement in Old Rajendra Nagar, where three IAS aspirants drowned on July 27, observing that the liability of the joint owners arose from their illegal act of permitting the basement to be used as a coaching institute.
“As per occupancy certificate dated 09.08.2021, basement could only be used for storage whereas applicants while executing lease deed dated 05.01.2022 permitted the basement to be used for coaching institute… In this way, the applicants have violated the rules and regulations for the use of the basement,” said principal district and sessions judge Anju Bajaj Chandna.
The court’s order came on the bail applications of the accused — Sarabjeet Singh, Tejinder Singh, Harinder Singh and Parminder Singh — who were arrested on July 28. Their earlier bail application was also dismissed by a magistrate court.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case for the offences of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, causing death by negligence, voluntarily causing hurt, negligent conduct w.r.t pulling down, repairing, or constructing building etc. and common intention, after the probe was transferred to them by the Delhi high court.
The court, however, while dismissing the bail applications of the accused person also said that the four joint owners of the basement are not “exclusively responsible” for the incident.
“The role of MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) officers who kept the matter of illegal use of basement pending without taking any action, more particularly not paying attention to the recent complaint of Kishore Singh Kushwaha, speaks volume about their complicity,” the court said
In its 14-page order, the court observed that a month prior to the incident, Kushwaha, a resident of Karol Bagh, brought to the knowledge of the authorities that classrooms are being run from the basement without permission, by complaining specifically against Rau’s IAS, the coaching centre where the tragedy took place. However, no action was taken.
“Despite reminders sent in this regard in the month of July, it is painful to note that authorities kept sitting on the said complaint and did not take prompt action, otherwise precious lives could have been saved,” the court noted.
The court also observed that though the system has contributed substantially to the occurrence of incident, but it does not reduce the fault of the joint owners.
The court also did not find force in the arguments of the defence counsel that the knowledge of culpable homicide cannot be attributed to the owners.
“If a common man like Kishore Kumar Kushwaha could sense and foresee the danger, the owner/occupier of the building were more in a position to know about the risks involved… particularly when owners are the residents of same vicinity and aware about its specific conditions”, the court said.
The court, thus, also concluded that permitting illegal use of the basement has a direct nexus with the unfortunate incident.
While denying them bail, it was further observed that even though the joint owners voluntarily surrendered before police, but that is not sufficient to release them on bail.
It was also noted that the investigation is at its initial and crucial stage and the issue of violation of building by-laws and encroachment over the drainage system needs to be investigated and specific role of the applicants needs to be ascertained.
The four accused approached the court claiming that the incident that occurred was an act of god and could have been avoided had the civic authorities performed their duties.
Advocate Amit Chaddha, assisted by advocates Kaushal Jeet Kait and Daksh Gupta, representing the accused persons, argued that the authorities have not thoroughly investigated the main cause behind the flooding.
It was also contended that in order to invoke section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), there must be intention to commit the crime along with knowledge. They pointed out that the basic ingredients of section 105 are not fulfilled regarding the four accused.
The defense counsel claimed that there is no evidence showing the accused had knowledge of the crime. Chaddha also stated that there is no risk of the accused fleeing as they voluntarily went to the police station after learning about the incident.
The Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) strongly opposed the bail applications, emphasising the seriousness of the incident and asserting that the accused were aware that the basement was being used as an examination hall rather than for storage.
Furthermore, they highlighted that a complaint was filed with MCD in June, citing that classes were being conducted in the basement. Despite a show-cause notice being issued by MCD, no action was taken.
CBI stated that the petitioners were receiving ₹4 lakh for permitting the use of the basement by the coaching institute, which they would not have got for allowing it to be used as a storage space.
The agency also contended that the investigation is in its early phases, and if the accused are released on bail, there is a concern that they might flee, tamper with evidence, and sway the witnesses.
Advocate Abhijit Anand, appearing for one of the victims, also opposed the bail application.
On July 27, the tragedy struck in Old Rajinder Nagar, claiming the lives of Tanya Soni, 21, Shreya Yadav, 25, and Nevin Delvin, 29. They drowned when the basement library of Rau’s IAS Study Circle flooded, leaving them with no means of escape.
Initially handled by the Delhi Police, the case was later transferred to CBI by the Delhi high court on August 2. The decision was made in light of concerns regarding the quality of the initial investigation. The move aims to assure the public that the investigation will be thorough and transparent due to the sensitive nature of the incident.