The Delhi High Court will hear RAU IAS Study Circle CEO Abhishek Gupta’s plea to waive a Rs 2.5 crore financial condition from his interim bail connected to the drowning deaths of three UPSC aspirants. Gupta’s bail, granted in September 2024, has faced multiple extensions, and the Supreme Court previously stayed the financial requirement.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has scheduled a hearing on Thursday for RAU IAS Study Circle CEO Abhishek Gupta’s plea to waive the Rs 2.5 crore financial condition imposed on his interim bail. Gupta was granted interim bail on September 23, 2024, in connection with the tragic deaths of three UPSC aspirants who drowned in a flooded basement in Old Rajinder Nagar. The condition required him to deposit Rs 2.5 crore with the Red Cross Society.
Justice Vikas Mahajan listed the matter for arguments on Thursday after the complainant’s counsel was unavailable due to commitments in the Supreme Court. Gupta’s counsel argued that the Supreme Court had already stayed the Rs 2.5 crore condition and highlighted that four co-accused co-owners of the basement had been granted regular bail by the High Court.
On January 21, 2025, a coordinate bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula converted the interim bail of these four co-owners into regular bail. Meanwhile, Gupta’s interim bail, originally granted by the trial court alongside coordinator Deshpal Singh, has been extended multiple times, with the next trial court hearing scheduled for January 31.
The case stems from a tragic incident in Old Rajinder Nagar, where three UPSC aspirants lost their lives due to severe waterlogging in a coaching institute’s basement. Gupta and his co-owners faced allegations of operating the institute illegally in an unsafe space.
The trial court previously denied bail to the four co-owners, holding them liable for allowing the illegal use of the basement as a coaching institute. However, the Delhi High Court later extended their interim bail until January 21, 2025, and required them to deposit Rs 5 crore with the Red Cross Society.
On December 7, 2024, Gupta’s counsel informed the trial court that the Rs 2.5 crore financial condition was being challenged in the High Court. Subsequently, the Supreme Court stayed the condition, providing some relief to Gupta.
The Delhi High Court had earlier directed the CBI to submit a detailed report on the root causes of waterlogging in Old Rajinder Nagar, including rainfall data from the day of the incident. Additionally, the court recommended the formation of a committee, supervised by a retired High Court judge, to monitor and prevent illegal coaching centers in basements across Delhi.
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