GMDA clears prosecution of 3 engineers in fatal 2025 drain case

Two junior engineers face negligence charges, while a contractual subdivisional engineer’s services have already been terminated.

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has granted sanction for the prosecution of three engineering officials in connection with the death of a 26-year-old man who drowned after falling into an under-construction stormwater drain on the Galleria Market road last year, officials aware of the matter said.

The accident spot, as seen on Wednesday. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

According to a senior GMDA official, permission has been granted for the prosecution of two junior engineers for alleged negligence on duty, while the services of a subdivisional engineer, who was employed on a contractual basis, have already been discontinued. The Gurugram Police, which has been investigating the death, had sought sanction from the GMDA to prosecute the officials.

To be sure, GMDA engineers qualify as public servants under the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority Act, 2017, which deems officers and employees of the authority to be public servants within the meaning of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code. Under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), prior sanction from the competent authority is required before courts can take cognisance of offences allegedly committed by public servants while discharging official duties, such as supervision and safety oversight at project sites.

“To prevent such incidents, the CEO of GMDA has also directed officials to follow a safety protocol wherein executive engineers are responsible for safety at project sites,” said a senior GMDA official. The incident took place on July 9 last year, when Naresh, 26, drowned in an under-construction drain near Galleria Market road, the dividing road between Sector 27 and Sector 28 in Gurugram. His body was recovered on July 13, following which a case was registered at DLF Police Station. Police found no barricades or cautionary signage. GMDA has recommended action against the contractor.

The development comes a few weeks after a car driven by a female professor overturned into an excavated pit on the same road on April 18; she was rescued. Following that, GMDA chief executive officer PC Meena issued a strict protocol directing executive engineers to certify safety measures, holding them responsible for any negligence.