A Delhi court on Monday granted interim bail until December 7 to Abhishek Gupta, CEO of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, and its coordinator, Deshpal Singh, in connection with the death of three civil services aspirants in the institute’s flooded basement.
Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna also instructed Gupta to deposit Rs 2.5 crore with the Red Cross Society by November 30. The judge stated that under the lease agreement, Gupta, as the lessee and CEO, was solely responsible for any damages or losses to people or property.
The court granted bail to both accused on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each, with two sureties of the same amount.
Judge Chandna noted that Gupta and Singh held control over the institute’s operations as CEO and coordinator, respectively. She acknowledged that the basement was being used in violation of regulations, but also highlighted the failure of civic authorities in the matter.
Citing the Delhi High Court’s observation, the judge pointed out that the stormwater drain near the centre was not functioning, de-silting had not occurred, and the area had been encroached upon by ramps.
“The civic authorities have failed to take any action against unauthorised activities,” the judge remarked.
The court noted that the investigation concerning the accused had been completed and the charge sheet would be submitted soon. The judge also mentioned that the building owners had already been granted interim bail, and the prosecution’s case would be thoroughly examined during the trial.
The judge said that bail is the norm, while jail is the exception, as established by several Supreme Court judgments.
She added that denying bail at this stage, when the investigation is nearly complete, would amount to punishing the accused before trial. Since the accused had already been in custody for over 54 days, there was no justification to keep them detained any longer.
On July 27, three civil service aspirants — Shreya Yadav (25) from Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni (25) from Telangana, and Nevin Delvin (24) from Kerala — died after the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle flooded during heavy rainfall in central Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar.
(With inputs from PTI)
