HC transfers Civil Services aspirants death case from police to CBI
Posters outside RAU’S IAS STUDY CIRCLE where three Civil Services aspirants died on July 27.
| Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP
The Delhi High Court on Friday transferred the probe into the drowning of three Civil Services aspirants in the basement of a coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar on July 27 from Delhi Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court said it took the decision after taking into account “the seriousness of incidents and that it may involve corruption by public servants”.
A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela asked the Central Vigilance Commission to appoint a senior official to oversee the CBI probe in a time-bound manner.
The court wondered how the police arrested the SUV driver who was driving past the institute where the incident took place instead of the official who did not notice that the stormwater drain in the area was dysfunctional. It pulled up the police for not questioning any Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) official or even seizing the relevant file from the civic body, which could have been an important piece of evidence.
“Mercifully, you have not challaned the rainwater for entering the basement…You would have said, ‘How dare the water enter the basement’. You could have fined the water also, the way you arrested the SUV driver for driving his car there,” the Bench remarked.
Panel constituted
It constituted a committee to revamp and reform the administrative, financial, and physical infrastructure in the Capital after observing that the city was heading “from one crisis to another”, but due to the multiplicity of authorities, each authority was passing the buck to the other.
The panel, headed by the Delhi Chief Secretary and comprising the DDA Vice-Chairperson, Delhi Police Commissioner, and MCD commissioner, was asked to submit its report within eight weeks.
The court said Delhi’s physical infrastructure is nearly 75 years old and that it was not only inadequate but poorly maintained.
“With population in excess of three crore, Delhi needs a more robust physical, financial, and administrative infrastructure. Due to various subsidy schemes, the migration in Delhi is only increasing and its population is also increasing. The financial situation of MCD if not precarious is not healthy either,” the Bench said.
It was also critical of the fact that the Delhi government had not held a single Cabinet meeting since March after the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case.
Regarding the Delhi Fire Services’ clearance to Rau’s IAS Study Circle, where the incident took place, which suggested that the basement was being used for storage, the court wondered how the place was changed to a study hall in just a few days.
The High Court said it was unable to fathom how the three students could not come out of the basement and sought to know whether the doors were blocked or staircases narrow.
“What’s your line of looking? How did the children drown? You have done an investigation now. We are on August 2. Why were they not able to come out of the basement? It doesn’t get flooded immediately. Water takes at least two-three minutes to fill a basement, it can’t happen in a minute,” the Bench said.
On being informed by the MCD Commissioner, who was present in the court, that the stormwater drains in the area were dysfunctional, the court asked why the civic body officials had not informed the MCD Chief about the issue in time.
It ordered the removal of encroachments and unauthorised constructions, including those on stormwater and sewage lines, in Old Rajinder Nagar.
The court’s remarks came in response to a plea by an organisation, Kutumb seeking a probe by a high-level committee into the deaths of three Civil Services aspirants.
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Delhi
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civic infrastructure
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judiciary (system of justice)