UPSC aspirants' death: Delhi High Court grants bail to four accused

The Delhi High Court has granted bail to the joint owners of the basement in which the Rau's IAS Study Circle coaching center, Rajinder Nagar, who have been booked for criminal negligence after three civil service aspirants died due to flooding in the basement..The joint owners of the basement who have been granted bail are Parvinder Singh, Sarabjit Singh, Tajinder Singh Ajmani and Harvinder Singh. They were already out on interim bail.On January 21, Justice Sanjeev Narula granted them regular bail after observing that investigation has been concluded and the chargesheet stands filed. The Court also noted that Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has not yet placed any material to indicate that the owners were engaged in any corruption..Notably, the Court also directed the owners to deposit ₹5 lakhs with the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) towards the welfare of the family of the deceased students, within two weeks. This direction was passed after the accused owners' counsel told the Court that they wished to make such a voluntary donation, in line with directions issued by the Supreme Court. The High Court also directed the DSLSA to commence the process of compensating the deceased aspirants' families.The member secretary, DSLSA, shall then consider the claims from the families of deceased and issue direction for disbursal of the said amount after due consideration," the Court stated..Three UPSC aspirants lost their lives on July 25, 2024 after they got trapped inside the library of the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle, which flooded due to rains in Delhi.The three aspirants who died were identified as Tania Soni (25), Shreya Yadav (25) and Navin Delvin (28).The Court had directed CBI to probe into the incident and also to probe the potential involvement of public servants in corruption, negligence or inaction.According to CBI, the basement was designated solely for storage but was being used for educational purposes and the basement owners were aware of the risks associated with it.On September 13, 2024, the High Court granted the basement owners interim bail, which was extended from time to time. .By its January 21 order, the Court confirmed the interim bail earlier granted as regular bail. “Accordingly, the order dated 13th September, 2024, granting interim bail is now confirmed as regular bail on the same terms and conditions,” the Court stated..Senior Advocates Mohit Mathur, Amit Chadha, along with advocates Kaushal Jeet Kait, Daksh Gupta, Jatin Yadav, Gaurav Dua, Harjas Singh, Harsh Gautam, Vignesh, Sarthak Sethi and Atin Chadha represented the accused owners. The CBI was represented by Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Rajesh Kumar and advocate Mohd. Changez Ali Khan.Advocates Abhijit Anand, Tisha Kaushik, Niyoti Dayma and Prachi Mittal appeared for the family of a deceased student. .[Read Order]