Delhi HC denies anticipatory bail to contractors in Janakpuri biker death case

A bench of justice Swarana Kanta Sharma refused to grant pre-arrest bail to the two contractors– Himanshu Gupta and Kavish Gupta, noting that the incident in question was a “preventable accident”

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed the anticipatory bail pleas of two directors of a private firm allegedly linked to a fatal excavation accident in west Delhi’s Janakpuri earlier this month, concluding that a young life had been lost due to human negligence and a complete disregard of duty.

The judge concluded that the accident occurred as a result of a breach of mandatory duties. (HT photo)

A bench of justice Swarana Kanta Sharma refused to grant pre-arrest bail to the two contractors– Himanshu Gupta and Kavish Gupta, noting that the incident in question was a “preventable accident”.

The judge concluded that the accident occurred as a result of a breach of mandatory duties and the absence of essential safety measures at the site.

These included the lack of adequate safeguards to prevent a person or vehicle from falling into the excavation, the non-availability of necessary rescue equipment, the absence of first-aid facilities, and the failure to ensure prompt intimation and intervention by the police and medical authorities.

Public roads, the court in its order said, cannot be allowed to be converted into death traps, reduce human life to collateral damage or contractual work and cannot be allowed to evade responsibility thereafter.

“In the court’s view, it was a preventable accident and the negligence as well as the knowledge of the likelihood of such an incident taking place stares hard from the facts of the case. It is high time that citizens of Delhi are no longer taken for granted and lives are valued. Incidents, such as a present one cannot be treated as a violation of terms of the contract, rather the loss of an innocent young life, a member of the community, must be acknowledged and mourned,” the court said while pronouncing the verdict.

It added, “When a pit measuring about 20 feet in length, 13 feet in width and 14 feet in depth is dug in the middle of a busy road, in utter violation of the tender and traffic police conditions, with no blinkers, barricades or safety measures, and no safety equipment, would inevitably result in an untoward incident. Breach of mandatory duty and absence of mandatory safety measure has resulted in the death of an innocent citizen and a message must go to the community that a person or entity awarded a public contract undertakes responsibility and if the responsibility is abdicated, accountability and law must follow.”

A detailed copy of the verdict is awaited.

The incident had occurred on the intervening night of February 5-6, when the deceased Kamal Dhyani, an employee with the private bank in Rohini was returning home. He fell into the pit dug for a sewer project with his bike suffering fatal injuries.

According to police, Dhyani remained trapped for nearly eight hours. Investigators alleged that several individuals, including Prajapati, became aware of the incident but did not alert authorities or initiate rescue efforts in time. Prajapati and a labourer, Yogesh, have been arrested in the case.

Police said a passerby, Vipin Singh, first alerted a nearby security guard, who informed Yogesh. Yogesh then contacted Prajapati, who allegedly informed the firm’s directors nearly an hour later. However, police were not notified during that period.

Investigators told the court they had seized CCTV footage showing Yogesh placing barricades and green nets around the pit shortly after the incident.

On February 9, the police issued arrest warrants against Himanshu and Kavish. Thereafter, they moved the trial court seeking anticipatory bail, which was rejected on February 11.

In their petition before the high court, they had asserted they were suspended directors and had no authority to act on behalf of the company.

In her order, the judge also noted that the sub-contractor had informed Himanshu about the incident on the same night itself; however, they did not inform the police, nor did they take immediate steps for medical help and the victim lay in the pit struggling for his life.

“This court is also of the view that public roads belong to the people of this city and the case at hand, when DJB awarded a contract involving excavation on a busy road, it was not only awarded a work order but at the same time entrusted public duty on the contractor to exercise care and caution. The excavation of a pit in the centre of a busy road, did not only reveal negligence but also knowledge of a high probability of human injury. It is most disturbing to note that even after the accident, no medical assistance was arranged, police were not informed, no emergency response was sought despite knowledge that the victim lay in the pit struggling for his life,” the court said in the order.