Techie’s death: Judicial custody of 3 accused extended

The CJM observed that in a case involving a fatal incident, the probe was expected to be conducted with seriousness and urgency.

NOIDA: A local court on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of three accused in connection with the death of a software engineer in Noida Sector 150 on January 17, even as it pulled up the investigating officer for lack of preparedness.

During the hearing, the court also questioned the investigating officer on why junior employees were arrested while senior management and directors of the developer firms had not been examined or proceeded against. (HT Archive)

During the hearing before the chief judicial magistrate (CJM), the court extended the judicial custody of Ravi Bansal and Sachin Karanwal, employees of Lotus Green, till January 29. The judicial custody of Abhay Kumar, director of MZ Wiztown, was extended till February 2.

During the hearing, which began in the afternoon, the court expressed displeasure over the pace of investigation and questioned the preparedness of the investigating officer.

The CJM observed that in a case involving a fatal incident, the probe was expected to be conducted with seriousness and urgency.

Counsel appearing for the Lotus Green employees reiterated arguments raised earlier, questioning the arrest of junior-level staff while senior officials and key decision-makers of the developer companies had not been proceeded against. It was argued that the individual roles of the arrested employees needed to be assessed separately.

Advocate Swastik Verma, appearing for MZ Wiztown director Abhay Kumar, submitted that during the previous hearing, the court had directed the investigating agency to examine the issue of seepage from a drain.

Verma said material was placed on record to argue that the drain in question falls under the ownership and responsibility of the Noida Authority and not of the company.

Another key argument raised by Verma was that the arrest memo did not conform to the prescribed legal format. “The legality of the arrest itself was challenged on the ground that mandatory procedures were not followed at the time of arrest and presentation before the court,” he said.

“Taking all submissions into account, the court, however, extended the judicial remand for the time being. The bail applications filed on behalf of the accused are pending consideration and have not yet been disposed of,” Verma added.

During the hearing, the court also questioned the investigating officer on why junior employees were arrested while senior management and directors of the developer firms had not been examined or proceeded against.

The investigating officer reportedly faced difficulty responding to these queries. The noted that the investigating officer had been directed during the previous hearing to come fully prepared.

Extending the judicial custody, the court, meanwhile, has directed the police to submit a detailed status report within two days, clearly outlining the investigation carried out so far and specifying the role attributed to each accused.

The court further ordered that on the next date of hearing, the investigating officer must be present with the complete case file and all relevant documents.

In an earlier report, HT had quoted a March 2022 letter written by MZ Wiztown Planners to the Noida Authority, flagging the collapse of sewer and drain lines at the Sector 150 site and warning of the risk of an accident.

The matter will be heard next on January 29 in the case of the Lotus Green employees, while proceedings against the MZ Wiztown director will resume on February 2.