Coaching centre deaths: Delhi court reserves order on bail pleas of SUV driver, basement co-owners

New Delhi, July 30

A court here on Tuesday reserved its order on the bail plea of an SUV driver and four owners of the coaching centre basement in the Old Rajinder Nagar area which was flooded with rainwater and led to the death of three civil services aspirants.

Judicial Magistrate Vinod Kumar reserved the order on the bail plea of driver Manuj Kathuria and the basement owners Tejinder Singh, Parvinder Singh, Harvinder Singh and Sarabjeet Singh.

“Order reserved for Wednesday at 4 pm,” the court said.

Kathuria has been accused of driving his Force Gurkha car through the street that was flooded by rainwater, causing the water to swell and breach the gates of the three-storey building and inundate the basement.

Rakesh Malhotra, Kathuria’s advocate, sought bail, saying his client did not know what would happen, nor did he have the intention to cause the incident.

“It is very difficult to drive in a waterlogged areahellip;What is the cause of the unfortunate incident? One, running a library in the place marked as something else… and two, the failure of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Jal Board etc to prevent waterlogging,” the advocate said.

He said the authorities were very much aware of what was happening in the basement and cited in support an application made to the MCD by a resident against the illegal running of the library in the basement.

“If you expect that I knock on every door and ask whether I take my car forward, then I am accused, not otherwise. How did I engage, abet or facilitate the offence? Please see the 30-minute footage and check the vehicular movement before and after me,” he said.

“I am accused of driving at high speed. I haven’t been booked under the Motor Vehicles Act or for (the penal provision of) rash and negligent driving, then how can I be booked for these offences?” the advocate added.

He argued that the basic ingredients for the alleged offence of committing culpable homicide not amounting to murder were not made.

“Intent and knowledge are necessary. If they expect me to drive slowly, they also expect me to believe that I drove the vehicle fast, knowing that it would cause velocity, and high thrust, following which the water would hit the iron gates hellip;,” the advocate said.

He said that in the last few years, coaching centres and PG accommodation had mushroomed in the area, causing traffic woes.

“The ultimate culprits are the institute and civic authorities…I am 50 years old, have ulcerative colitis, and am prone to infection. I am in the category of sick,” the advocate said urging the court to grant bail.

Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava opposed the bail plea, saying Kathuria was not guilty of “contributory negligence”, but he “aggravated” the incident.

“Kindly see which vehicle he was driving hellip; The accused is fond of off-driving. Why this person did not take care? Because he is aware that he is on a Force Gurkha. Mera kuch nahi hoga (Nothing will happen to me). He did not apply the brakes hellip; Usi speed mein gadi modta hai (He turns the vehicle at the same speed). It caused waves, which hit the iron gates. This man knows that there is a library in the basement,” the prosecutor said.

The additional public prosecutor played in court a few videos taken from Kathuria’s social media accounts, showing him driving the same SUV, and said, “I am sorry to use this term. But he is mastikhor aur masti mein inhone ye sab kar diya…In having fun he caused the incident.”

The public prosecutor said the police investigation is still in a nascent stage and the accused, if let out on bail, may influence witnesses.

Kathuria’s counsel rebutted, “The Delhi Police is arresting people not related to the case; how can I be blamed for the incident?”

The court then reserved the order, following which there were arguments by the counsel for the four co-owners.

Advocate Amit Chadha, representing the basement owners, said the concept of a library of a coaching institute was different from the libraries in courts and other places where books are stacked with designated reading places.

“It is merely a library to utilise the time between classes. It is not being misused for any other purpose,” he said.

“I never had any intention, not even the knowledge for the alleged offence under section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (culpable homicide not amount to murder). Intention and knowledge are the keywords which the court has to satisfy,” he added.

The advocate said that the civic agencies were responsible for the unfortunate occurrence.

“It was an act of god which could have been avoided had the agencies worked proactively. You have arrested soft targets. I would say that this is an organised crime (by the government agencies). You cannot burden a bona fide citizen with such onerous guilt,” he said.

The counsel said that all the alleged offences except BNS section 105 were bailable and the section was invoked to increase the gravity of the alleged offences.

“They (police) have painted everyone with the same brush. As per the lease agreement, the lessee is exclusively responsible for any damages hellip; I can at best be booked under MCD laws,” he said.

APP Srivastava, however, said the co-owners had abetted the offence.

“Merely by saying that there was a contract is not a good argument hellip; Everyone is trying to throw the responsibility on others hellip; You have abetted this thing,” he said.