Court reserves order on bail plea of accused in Dhaula Kuan BMW crash

Senior advocate Pradeep Rana told the court the BMW did not hit Singh’s motorcycle from behind, as claimed, but was ahead of it. “The footage shows the motorcycle was behind the BMW…the collision was not from behind. Both vehicles were at equal speed, and the bike crashed into the bus, which caused the fatality,” he said.

A Delhi court on Thursday reserved its order on the bail plea of Gaganpreet Makkad, accused in the Dhaula Kuan BMW crash that killed 52-year-old finance ministry employee Navjot Singh. Judicial magistrate first class Ankit Garg said the order will be pronounced on Saturday after hearing arguments from both sides and reviewing CCTV footage of the incident.

Mortal remains of Navjot Singh being taken from hospital, at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, following the Dhaula Kuan BMW accident case, in New Delhi. (PTI)

Makkad’s counsel argued that the footage contradicted the prosecution’s case. Senior advocate Pradeep Rana told the court the BMW did not hit Singh’s motorcycle from behind, as claimed, but was ahead of it. “The footage shows the motorcycle was behind the BMW…the collision was not from behind. Both vehicles were at equal speed, and the bike crashed into the bus, which caused the fatality,” he said. The defence also submitted that Singh’s body lay unattended for several minutes before help arrived, while Makkad risked her own family’s safety to assist the injured man.

Additional public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava dismissed the claim, pointing to a dent in the BMW as proof that it was travelling well above the 50km/hour speed limit. He accused Makkad of negligence after the accident, including taking the injured to Nulife Hospital, 19km from the crash site, bypassing AIIMS Trauma Centre, Safdarjung Hospital, and other facilities.

“The golden hour principle in trauma cases was ignored. If an injured person is taken to the nearest hospital, survival chances are higher,” Shrivastava said. He alleged Makkad deliberately chose Nulife—owned by her uncle’s son—to avoid scrutiny.

The prosecutor told the court that Nulife informed police of the admissions only at 4.20pm, nearly three hours after Singh’s death. The medico-legal certificates (MLCs) of Singh, his wife Sandeep Kaur, and Makkad did not mention their time of arrival, which he said was proof of tampering.

Citing a police statement, he added that a relative of the accused admitted that the hospital lacked treatment options, with Kaur left waiting on a stretcher while Makkad was moved to the ICU and her husband was treated for a nose fracture.

Shrivastava also pointed out that Makkad’s own MLC was prepared only at 7pm, over five hours after the crash. “The intent was to conceal the incident. Navjot could have been saved. The accused and her family know south Delhi hospitals well. Even if not, they could have checked Google Maps. The accused was not serious about the victims,” he submitted.

Opposing the bail plea, the prosecutor argued that the case warranted charges under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, which deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. He alleged Makkad’s conduct after the accident showed “no intent to save the deceased, but instead save themselves by avoiding legal proceedings”.

On September 14, Singh and his wife were riding their two-wheeler on Ring Road when a speeding BMW, allegedly driven by Makkad, hit them. Singh died in the crash, while Kaur survived and became the prime eyewitness. Police investigations have since focused on why Makkad bypassed major hospitals before taking the victims to Nulife.