UPSC aspirants' death: Delhi High Court grants interim bail to 4 accused subject to payment of ₹5 crore

The Delhi High Court on Friday granted interim bail till January 30 to four accused in the case related to death of three civil services aspirants from the flooding of the basement of a coaching institute in Delhi's Rajinder Nagar area. .Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma granted interim bail to Parvinder Singh, Sarabjit Singh, Tajinder Singh Ajmani and Harvinder Singh. They are the co-owners of the premises.However, the Court said that the bail will be subject to the accused depositing ₹5 crore with the Red Cross Society. The Court stressed that the accused's conduct was upardonable and showed their greed. "They knew fully well that this [running coaching centre from basement] can be dangerous," the Court said. It further asked the Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) to form a committee under a retired judge of the High Court to ensure that no coaching centre operates in violation of norms and from basements. Justice Sharma further said that the government may consider carving out a specific place in the city where these coaching centres can run. .Three UPSC aspirants lost their lives on July 25 after they got trapped inside the library in the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle, which flooded due to rain.According to reports, the basement filled with 10-12 feet of water almost immediately, leaving students no chance to escape.The three aspirants who died in the incident were identified as Tania Soni (25), Shreya Yadav (25) and 28-year-old Navin Delvin.Trial court had denied bail to the four accused noting that their liability stems from their "illegal act" of allowing the basement to be used as a coaching institute. .According to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the matter, the basement was designated solely for storage but was being used for educational purpose and the accused were aware of the risks associated with it. Meanwhile, the accused argued they the incident was an act of god and the civic agencies share the blame for the clogged drains as well. Their bail plea argued that they were not named in the FIR initially and have cooperated with the probe so far. .Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur along with advocates Amit Chadha, Kaushal Jeet Kait, Daksh Gupta, Jatin Yadav, Gaurav Dua, Harjas Singh, Harsh Gautam and Vignesh represented the accused. CBI was represented by Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Rajesh Kumar and advocate Mishika Pandita. Advocates Abhijit Anand, Rochak Singla and Sahil Rejakhan represented one of the deceased.