Coaching deaths: Delhi court seeks CBI response on bail pleas of four basement co-owners

New Delhi, Aug 7 (PTI) A Delhi court on Wednesday issued a notice to the CBI on bail applications of four jailed co-owners of a coaching centre basement where three civil service aspirants drowned recently.

Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna directed the central probe agency to file its response by August 9, when the court will hear the bail applications of four accused -- Parvinder Singh, Tajinder Singh, Harvinder Singh and Sarbjit Singh.

The court while issuing notice observed that since the copy of the FIR has not been brought before the court, it cannot decide on the bail applications moved by the accused persons.

The Delhi High Court recently transferred the probe into the deaths in the basement of the coaching centre building in Old Rajinder Nagar from police to the CBI "to ensure the public has no doubt over the investigation".

Judge Chandna issued the notice to the CBI after being told by the public prosecutor that the process of transfer of case from the Delhi Police is yet not complete and the case has not been registered by the agency yet.

Meanwhile, the advocate appearing for the accused persons told the court that they did not try to evade the law rather had voluntarily gone to the police station to join the probe on July 28 after they got to know about the tragedy.

He further told the judge that the sections imposed on the four accused, “who are just the land owners and had given the property on lease to Rau’s IAS”, are of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and death by negligence “which are contradictory in nature”.

He further said that since the case has not been registered by the CBI yet, “an interim relief may be granted by the court”.