Four basement co-owners move HC to seek bail

New Delhi, August 28

The four co-owners of the basement of the coaching institute, where three Civil Services aspirants drowned in Old Rajinder Nagar, have moved the Delhi High Court seeking bail. This development follows the trial court’s denial of bail in their previous application.

Last Friday, the trial court observed that the co-owners’ liability arose from their illegal act of allowing the basement to be used as a coaching institute.

In their bail plea to the Delhi High Court, the co-owners argued that the trial court failed to consider that they were not named in the FIR and had voluntarily reported to the police station and cooperated with the investigation.

The co-owners also contended in their petition that the application of Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was an exaggerated attempt to escalate the severity of the case.

They argued that the provision was not applicable, as they neither intended to commit a crime nor had knowledge of one. The petition further stated that the trial court overlooked the fact that the co-owners had only leased the basement and third floor for the coaching institute, an activity permitted under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) norms, and therefore had no role in the unfortunate event.

The case, initially investigated by the Delhi Police, was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the Delhi High Court on August 2 due to concerns about the quality of the initial investigation. The CBI has since registered a case for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, causing death by negligence, and other related charges.