UPSC aspirant death case: Delhi HC to hear Abhishek Gupta's plea on Jan 30

The Delhi High Court has listed to hear RAU IAS Study Circle CEO Abhishek Gupta's plea to waive the financial condition of Rs 2.5 crores imposed on his interim bail on Thursday.

Gupta was granted interim bail on September 23, 2024, in connection with the deaths of three UPSC aspirants in a flooded basement in Old Rajinder Nagar. The court had imposed a condition of depositing of Rs. 2.5 crore with the Red Cross.

Justice Vikas Mahajan listed the matter on Thursday for arguments as the counsel for the complainant was busy in the Supreme Court.

The counsel for Abhishek Gupta submitted that the Supreme Court has already stayed the condition and the other 4 co-accused co-owners have been granted regular bail by the High Court.

The coordinate bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula on January 21 confirmed the interim bail of four co-owners of the basement as regular bail.

The trial court granted interim bail to Abhishek Gupta and coordinator Deshpal Singh in the UPSC aspirant death case. The same was extended by the court from time to time. The matter is listed beside the trial court on January 31.

On December 7, 2024, Abhishek Gupta's counsel informed the trial court that the Rs2.5 crore financial condition imposed on Gupta's interim bail had been challenged in the High Court.

The High Court had extended the interim bail of the four co-owners until January 21, 2025. Additionally, the Supreme Court stayed the requirement for the accused to deposit Rs 2.5 crores with the Red Cross.

Earlier, the bench of Justice DK Sharma had also requested the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi to form a committee, which will operate under the supervision of a retired High Court judge, to ensure that no coaching centers are run in basements without sanction across Delhi.

Additionally, the court had directed the four co-owners of the basement to deposit Rs 5 crore to the Red Cross Society.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court had asked the CBI to submit a status report addressing the primary causes of waterlogging in the area and the rainfall data from that day.

The trial court earlier had denied bail to the four co-owners and said that the liability of the co-owners stemmed from their illegal act of allowing the basement to be used as a coaching institute.