Bail Granted to Manuj Kathuria After SUV Incident that Caused Drowning of Civil Service Aspirants
New Delhi, 1st July 2024: On Thursday, a Delhi court granted bail to Manuj Kathuria, a 50-year-old businessman involved in a tragic incident where three civil service aspirants drowned after his SUV drove through a waterlogged lane near Rau’s IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar. Kathuria was accused of creating a wave of water that breached the coaching centre’s entrance and caused flooding in its basement.
The sessions court granted bail a day after the Magistrate Court in Tis Hazari had denied it. The Delhi Police informed the sessions court that they would be dropping the more severe charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita or BNS) against Kathuria.
In its response to the bail application, the police clarified that the principal charge against Kathuria was “rash driving on a public way” (under Section 281 of the BNS).
Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Kumar noted that since the non-bailable charge under Section 105 of the BNS was not applicable at this stage, the remaining charges were bailable, thus granting bail to Kathuria.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court criticized the Delhi Police for their “inexplicable investigation” after they arrested Kathuria but did not take action against any Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials.
Kathuria had argued in court on Tuesday that the flooding in the coaching centre’s basement was primarily due to negligence by civic authorities. His lawyer, Rakesh Malhotra, contended that it was implausible for Kathuria to have driven at high speed in a waterlogged area, claiming the vehicle’s speed was only about 15 km per hour. “How could I have predicted that my car would generate enough force to cause a basement gate to collapse and lead to drowning?” Malhotra argued.
In addition to Kathuria, the case also involves the co-owners of the building’s basement—Parvinder Singh, Harvinder Singh, Sarabjit Singh, and Tajinder Singh—all of whom are currently in judicial custody until August 12. They have filed a new bail application with the sessions court following the denial of their previous plea by the Magistrate Court.
On Sunday, RAU’s CEO Abhishek Gupta and coordinator Deshpal Singh were arrested and have been sent to judicial custody for two weeks.
