A Delhi court granted bail to the driver charged with culpable homicide in connection with the drowning deaths of three IAS aspirants in the flooded basement of an Old Rajendra Nagar coaching center on July 27. The court criticized the application of these charges as “over-enthusiastic.”
The bail decision came a day after the court rejected the bail application of Manuj Kathuria, the accused.
According to additional sessions judge Rakesh Kumar, the charges against Kathuria, under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, were applied in “over-enthusiasm.” This charge is non-bailable under the BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita), 2023.
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Kathuria was granted bail on a personal bond of ₹50,000 with one surety of the same amount. However, the court imposed several conditions: Kathuria must cooperate with the investigation, refrain from tampering with evidence, regularly appear in court, avoid contact with the complainant or witnesses, and not make any public comments about the case. He must also inform the station house officer and the court of any address changes.
On July 27, three IAS aspirants—Tanya Soni, 21, Shreya Yadav, 25, and Nevin Delvin, 25—drowned when the basement library of Rau’s IAS Study Circle in Old Rajendra Nagar flooded due to heavy rain.
Following the incident, several arrests were made, including that of Rau’s IAS Study Circle owner and CEO Abhishek Gupta, and coordinator DP Singh, on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Four others, including Kathuria, were also arrested. The police alleged that Kathuria’s vehicle, driving through the waterlogged road, worsened the situation by creating waves that broke the institute’s gate and flooded the basement.
In his bail application, Kathuria argued that the FIR did not contain allegations against him other than driving on a waterlogged road. He claimed that civic authorities responsible for drainage and illegal coaching centers were shifting blame onto him. Kathuria also stated that video footage used against him was misinterpreted and that there were no barricades or police present on his route.
Special public prosecutor Atul Srivastava opposed the bail, requesting that if granted, Kathuria be barred from interacting with the media.
The court decided to grant bail, noting that the offense under Section 105 of BNS, 2023, was not sufficiently established at this stage. It observed that the remaining charges Kathuria faces—BNS sections 106(1) (causing death by negligence), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 290 (negligent conduct with respect to buildings), 3(5) (common intention), and 281 (rash driving)—are bailable.
The court also noted that the investigating officer had not collected CCTV footage from the basement before and after the incident. Delhi Police stated that the applicability of BNS Section 105 would be reassessed following an expert review by IIT Delhi.
(Includes inputs from online sources)
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