Coaching centre deaths: Court reserves order on accused's bail applications

A Delhi court is likely to pronounce on 23 August its order on the bail applications of four jailed co-owners of a coaching centre basement where three civil service aspirants drowned last month.

Principal district and sessions judge Anju Bajaj Chandna on Saturday reserved the order after hearing arguments from the CBI as well as the accused -- Parvinder Singh, Tajinder Singh, Harvinder Singh and Sarbjit Singh.

During the arguments, the accused told the court that the incident was an "act of god" which could have been avoided had the civic agencies performed their duties.

"It was an act of god which happened and it could have been avoided had the civic agencies performed their onerous duties which they have miserably failed to do," the advocate for the accused had told the judge.

The counsel submitted that the basement was not a library but a waiting area for the students before their classes commenced.

He claimed that a fire department inspection was done at the premises a few days before the incident occurred, which had pointed out that the basement was being used for storage purpose and the building was safe and fit to run an educational centre.

The counsel also submitted that in order to invoke the section for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, there has to be intention to commit the crime along with knowledge.

"Where do they derive knowledge? Had I given the property thinking that I will construct a basement and one day when it will rain I will commit a death'¦ There has to be a proximity link," he further added.

The counsel submitted that in order to establish that the deaths were due to negligence, there has to be a direct link between them.

He further told the judge that the four accused were not evading arrest, rather they voluntarily went to the police station after they got to know about the incident.

The Delhi High Court recently transferred the probe into the deaths in the basement of the coaching centre building in Old Rajinder Nagar from police to the CBI "to ensure the public has no doubt over the investigation".