Coaching centre deaths: Court rejects CEO’s plea to reopen Rau’s IAS study circle

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday refused to allow the CEO of Rau’s IAS Study Circle to access the building, where three IAS aspirants drowned in July in the basement in Old Rajender Nagar, to resume taking classes.
“I am of the view that no sufficient ground to direct grant of access to the upper floors of the building is made out. The application is accordingly dismissed,” said additional chief judicial magistrate Nishant Garg.
The court, in its order, noted that despite a show cause notice being issued by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) pointing out that the premises was being used contrary to the provisions of the Master Plan for Delhi, no steps were taken to stop the misuse of the premises.
“In spite of a specific complaint by a student, Kishore Singh Kushwaha, on 26.06.2024, no steps were taken to stop the illegal use of the basement,” the court said.
The court was hearing an application moved by Abhishek Gupta, the owner and CEO, seeking access to premises of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, except its basement, in Old Rajender Nagar.
The application was moved, claiming that the entire building is barricaded when none of the floors except the basement have any connection to the case. It was pointed out that non-access to the upper floors is causing grave hardship to the students who are not able to attend offline classes; thus, access may be granted to conduct classes.
The application was opposed by the public prosecutor, who stated that access to the building cannot be granted without granting access to the stilt area, which is also the subject matter of the investigation.
The counsel for one of the victims also opposed the application, stating that the institute was being run from the building in complete violation of the building by-laws, which has resulted in the deaths of three innocent students, and it is yet to be established that the building was constructed as per the sanction plan and that it has all requisite permissions from the authorities concerned.
The court, while denying the permission, noted that the application is premised on the fact that non-access is hampering the studies of the students and to support the same 121 emails allegedly written by students or their parents that have been attached. 
The court further observed that out of 121, 105 emails were sent on one day and the remaining over the next two days, and the content of most of them is similar and, in many cases, identical.
“It is not clear what prompted so many students to make enquiries about resumption of classes on a single day. The content of the emails of most of the students is similar and, in many cases, identical. In these circumstances, the authenticity of these emails is highly suspect,”  the court said.
It was also observed that the building was being used without a fire safety certificate till July 2024, when a certificate was issued by the Delhi Fire Services after the building was found fit for occupancy class. “Educational Coaching Center” with a directive that the basement be used strictly as per building by-laws.
“It is not clear how the occupancy certificate was issued for the building in 2021 without the requisite fire safety certificate. It is further not clear on what basis the fire safety certificate was issued without noticing the existence of a library in the basement either by the DFS (Delhi Fire Services) or MCD during the inspection purportedly carried out on 01.07.2024”, the court stated in the order dismissing the application.
The court, however, in the interest of the students who had opted for offline and hybrid coaching and have paid fees higher than those who had opted for online mode, allowed for classes to be conducted at any other suitable premises.
Three UPSC civil services aspirants—Tanya Soni, 21, Shreya Yadav, 25, and Nevin Delvin, 29—had died in the basement of the building due to flooding on July 27. The building was later sealed.
Gupta was arrested in the case on July 28 and was produced before the court shortly after his arrest, from where he was sent to judicial custody and has been in custody since then.
The Delhi police, who were initially conducting the probe in the case, also arrested five other accused in the case, including the joint owners.
The joint owners of the basement have now approached the Delhi high court seeking bail in the case.
The case was initially registered by the Delhi police, however, on August 2, the probe was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation by the Delhi high court, keeping in view of the nature of the incident and to ensure that the public has no doubt with regards to the investigation.