NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday granted four-day custody of six people to CBI in a case related to the death of three UPSC aspirants in the basement of a coaching centre due to rainwater flooding in July.
The court of additional chief judicial magistrate Nishant Garg, while granting the custody, said custodial interrogation of the accused persons would be “necessary for the purpose of investigation and for ascertaining the role played by various individuals who might have been involved in corrupt practices or criminal negligence”.
The accused who were remanded in CBI custody include the chief executive officer of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, Abhishek Gupta, four joint owners of the basement of the coaching centre-Tajinder Singh, Harvinder Singh, Sarabjit Singh and Parvinder Singh-and another accused, Deshpal Singh. They will be produced before the court on Sept 4.
CBI moved an application seeking custody, saying their custody was needed for the purpose of investigation to move forward. In its remand application, CBI said the basement of the building was used as a library-cum-exam hall where students would spend extended periods for self-study and examinations. This usage was in direct contradiction to the occupancy certificate issued for the building, which clearly stated that the basement was to be used for specific purposes such as parking, household storage and a car lift.
Furthermore, CBI claimed that the building was being used to operate a coaching centre without the necessary fire safety certificate. During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that a show-cause notice had been issued to the owner/occupier of the building due to violations of Delhi’s Master Plan 2021 and the misuse of the property. In response to this notice, Gupta, the CEO of the coaching centre, applied for a fire safety certificate, which was subsequently issued by Delhi Fire Service on July 9.
Opposing the remand application, the counsels for all six accused submitted before the court that no specific ground or justification had been given by CBI for taking them into custody. Advocate Kaushal Jeet Kait, appearing for the four joint owners of the basement, submitted before the court that Sarabjit Singh had recently undergone surgery and was on medication, which should be allowed during his custody.
After hearing the submissions, the court directed that the accused persons would be medically examined as per rules and allowed the counsels of the accused persons to meet them for 30 minutes daily.
The court of additional chief judicial magistrate Nishant Garg, while granting the custody, said custodial interrogation of the accused persons would be “necessary for the purpose of investigation and for ascertaining the role played by various individuals who might have been involved in corrupt practices or criminal negligence”.
The accused who were remanded in CBI custody include the chief executive officer of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, Abhishek Gupta, four joint owners of the basement of the coaching centre-Tajinder Singh, Harvinder Singh, Sarabjit Singh and Parvinder Singh-and another accused, Deshpal Singh. They will be produced before the court on Sept 4.
CBI moved an application seeking custody, saying their custody was needed for the purpose of investigation to move forward. In its remand application, CBI said the basement of the building was used as a library-cum-exam hall where students would spend extended periods for self-study and examinations. This usage was in direct contradiction to the occupancy certificate issued for the building, which clearly stated that the basement was to be used for specific purposes such as parking, household storage and a car lift.
Furthermore, CBI claimed that the building was being used to operate a coaching centre without the necessary fire safety certificate. During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that a show-cause notice had been issued to the owner/occupier of the building due to violations of Delhi’s Master Plan 2021 and the misuse of the property. In response to this notice, Gupta, the CEO of the coaching centre, applied for a fire safety certificate, which was subsequently issued by Delhi Fire Service on July 9.
Opposing the remand application, the counsels for all six accused submitted before the court that no specific ground or justification had been given by CBI for taking them into custody. Advocate Kaushal Jeet Kait, appearing for the four joint owners of the basement, submitted before the court that Sarabjit Singh had recently undergone surgery and was on medication, which should be allowed during his custody.
After hearing the submissions, the court directed that the accused persons would be medically examined as per rules and allowed the counsels of the accused persons to meet them for 30 minutes daily.
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