In a significant ruling, the Delhi High Court has set aside a trial court’s directive that required Abhishek Gupta, CEO of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, to deposit Rs 2.5 crore for interim bail. This decision pertains to the tragic incident where three civil service aspirants drowned due to flooding in the coaching center’s basement in July last year.
Justice Vikas Mahajan presided over the case, emphasizing that the issue of bail would be evaluated by the trial court based on its own merits, independent of financial conditions. The ruling came after the senior counsel for Gupta argued that the deposit requirement was excessive and inconsistent with precedents set by the Supreme Court. In a related case, the apex court had overturned a similar Rs 5 crore deposit condition for a co-accused.
“The condition of the impugned order dated September 23, 2024, to the extent that the petitioner was directed to deposit Rs 2.5 crore, is set aside,” Justice Mahajan stated, aligning the decision with the Supreme Court’s guidance.
During the proceedings, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) requested that all their contentions remain open for future argument. Additionally, counsel for the deceased’s families sought more time to file a response to the interim bail order, a request that the court noted had already been given sufficient time.
The court also reviewed the conditions set for other co-accused in the case, noting that the owners of the basement had been granted bail with an instruction to make a voluntary contribution of Rs 5 lakh to the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA).
The tragic incident occurred on July 27, 2024, when Shreya Yadav from Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Nevin Delvin from Kerala died after heavy rainfall led to severe flooding in the basement of a building in Old Rajinder Nagar, central Delhi, where Rau’s IAS Study Circle is located.
The initial interim bail for Gupta and the coaching coordinator, Deshpal Singh, was granted by Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna on September 23, 2024, with each accused required to submit a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh along with two sureties of the same amount.
