NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday announced its decision on the Bail applications moved by the four Co-owner one cellar a coaching centre in Old Rajender Nagar where three UPSC aspirants died in July. The Chief District Court and Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna will pronounce the verdict on August 23.
The court was hearing the bail petitions of Sarabjeet Singh, Tejinder Singh, Harinder Singh and Parminder Singh, who were arrested on July 28. On July 31, a magistrate court rejected their bail plea. Meanwhile, Sarabjeet has been remanded on probation to undergo a stent removal on August 19.
“Bacche dum ghut ke mar gaye. Inka 20 din me jail me dum ghutne laga (Students died of suffocation and they feel suffocated in prison in just 20 days)” CBI Consulting said lawyer Anil Kumar Kushwaha, rejecting the bail applications of the co-owners.
Lawyer Amit Chadha, representing the accused, argued that for the commission of intentional killing, which is not considered murder, knowledge and intent must be present to constitute the non-bailable offence. But CBI argued, “The amount paid as rent (Rs 400,000 per month) was not for storage purposes. This is more than enough to prove the knowledge. This is not the work of a single person but of many – trainers, owners, authorities. This is more than enough.”
The necessary permissions were not obtained when the lease agreement was signed between the co-owners and the training centre, the CBI alleged, claiming that the permissions were obtained only 17 days before the incident. “The investigation is in its initial stages… We would have to question these people. This is a matter that concerns the general public. It is not a normal issue,” the lawyer explained.
He said this case could not be equated with the Uphaar tragedy because there was no illegal activity there, only violations. “In this case, an illegal act took place. It is on a completely different basis. You can see that from the lease agreement,” he said, contradicting the defence counsel’s attempt to equate the two cases.
The CBI contradicted the defence, which called the incident an “act of God”, saying: “An act of God is an event that is inconceivable and big enough to imagine. Every time it rains, Delhi is flooded, which public knowledge.”
The agency also expressed fears that the co-owners could tamper with evidence, influence witnesses and even leave the country if released on bail. “They are influential people,” it said.
Refuting the CBI’s submission, advocate Chadha said the accused has no criminal antecedent and will not flee. “There is no evidence… so what is being tampered with? What more needs to be investigated from the accused?” he asked.
The lawyer also claimed that the CBI has not taken any action in the last two weeks since the case was handed over to it on August 2. “Have you (the CBI) investigated any of the civil service employees? Have you taken any statements?” asked Chadha.
Lawyer Abhijeet Anand, who represented one of the victims, 28-year-old Nevin Dalwin from Ernakulam in Kerala, said the co-owners had built the basement under the parking lot, which was illegal. Building regulations.
