Thankfully, you didn't charge rainwater: Delhi HC criticizes police in coaching center deaths case

The Delhi High Court has criticized the police for arresting a man who drove his SUV through a flooded road in Old Rajinder Nagar, causing water to flood a basement coaching center where three UPSC aspirants died. The court remarked, "mercifully, you have not challaned the rainwater."

Manuj Kathuria, the driver, was granted bail by a sessions court in Delhi, which stated that he was “implicated in over-enthusiasm.” Kathuria was arrested on July 29 in connection with the deaths at Rau's IAS Study Circle. He had been placed in 14-day judicial custody on a culpable homicide charge. The Delhi Police accused him of driving his Force Gurkha through a rain-flooded street, exacerbating the flood that breached the building's gates and inundated the basement.

Court slams police investigation

On Friday, the Delhi High Court rebuked the police for not questioning any Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials or seizing relevant files from the civic body, which could be crucial evidence. The court mocked the police's handling of the case, suggesting that they could have fined the water for entering the basement, just as they had arrested the SUV driver.

“You (police) have not even called a minion for questioning,” the bench noted. They further criticized the police for booking an innocent person while letting the real culprits go free.

The bench lamented the likelihood of repeated tragedies every monsoon due to systemic failures in handling nature’s fury. "We are going to have these tragedies day after day... Water is not going to spare anyone. Tragedy knows no one's address," the bench observed, emphasizing the need for functional stormwater and sewage systems.

Case transferred to CBI

To ensure public confidence in the investigation, the Delhi High Court transferred the probe into the drowning deaths to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The Central Vigilance Commission has been asked to nominate a senior officer to oversee the CBI’s investigation in a time-bound manner.

Manuj Kathuria was released from Tihar Jail on Friday after the Tis Hazari Court granted him bail. The prosecution decided to drop the harsher charge of culpable homicide, not amounting to murder against him. The high court had previously expressed dismay at the police’s "strange" investigation, questioning the arrest of the car driver and suggesting a potential cover-up.

Support for victims’ families

In a show of solidarity, four UPSC coaching institutes—Vajiram and Ravi Institute, Drishti IAS, NEXT IAS, and SRIRAM's IAS—offered ₹10 lakh each to the families of the three deceased IAS aspirants: Shreya Yadav, Tanya Soni, and Nevin Dalvin.