Deaths at Delhi coaching centre: Court reserves order on suspect’s bail plea
The counsel also argued that to invoke the section for manslaughter not amounting to murder, there must be intent to commit the offence along with knowledge. (Photo: PTI)
A Delhi court is likely to pronounce its verdict on August 23 on the bail pleas of four jailed co-owners of a basement of a coaching centre where three government employees drowned last month.
Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna on Saturday stayed the order after hearing arguments of the CBI and the accused — Parvinder Singh, Tajinder Singh, Harvinder Singh and Sarbjit Singh.
During arguments, the defendant told the court that the incident was an “act of God” that could have been prevented if government authorities had performed their duties.
“It was a natural disaster that could have been prevented if government authorities had fulfilled their difficult duties, but they failed miserably,” the suspect’s lawyer told the judge.
The attorney argued that the basement was not a library, but a waiting room for students before their classes started.
He claimed that a fire department inspection had been carried out on the premises a few days before the incident, which found that the basement was being used for storage purposes and that the building was safe and suitable for running an educational centre.
Counsel also argued that in order to invoke the article for manslaughter not amounting to murder, there must be intent to commit the crime, accompanied by knowledge.
“Where do they get their knowledge from? Did I give the property thinking that I would build a basement and that one day, when it rains, I would commit a death? There must be a proximity link,” he added.
Counsel argued that there must be a direct connection between the deaths to establish that they were the result of negligence.
He further told the judge that the four suspects did not want to evade arrest but voluntarily went to the police station after they came to know about the incident.
The Delhi High Court recently transferred the probe into the deaths in the basement of the coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar from the police to the CBI “to ensure that the public has no doubts about the investigation”.
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First publication: Aug 17, 2024 | 6:15 PM IST