Delhi Court grants bail to Gaganpreet Kaur in the high-profile BMW crash case that killed a senior Finance Ministry official and left his wife grievously injured.
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NEW DELHI: A Delhi Court on Saturday granted bail to Gaganpreet Kaur, the accused in the high-profile Dhaula Kuan BMW accident case that claimed the life of Navjot Singh, a senior Finance Ministry official, and left his wife grievously injured. The bail order was passed by Judicial Magistrate Ankit Garg at the Patiala House Court after extensive hearings from both the prosecution and the defence.
Bail Conditions:
Kaur was directed to be released on a personal bond of Rs. 1 lakh with two sureties of the same amount. The Court imposed strict conditions, including:
- Surrender of her passport.
- Restriction on leaving the country without prior permission.
The Court had earlier reserved its order on September 25 after hearing arguments. Prior to this, Kaur had been in judicial custody since September 15, which was extended multiple times, most recently until September 27.
Background of the Case
Kaur, 38, was accused of driving the BMW that collided with a two-wheeler carrying Navjot Singh and his wife. Singh, 52, a deputy secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, died from his injuries, while his wife suffered serious trauma. The accident occurred on September 14 on Ring Road near the Delhi Cantonment Metro Station. The couple had been returning home after visiting Bangla Sahib Gurdwara.
The court noted that an ambulance reached the accident spot but stayed for around 30 seconds instead of rushing the injured to the nearest hospital.
Legal Proceedings and FIR:
An FIR was registered under Sections 281 (rash driving), 125B (endangering life or personal safety of others), 105, and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Kaur had been remanded to judicial custody and was facing charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rash driving, endangering life, and obstruction of evidence.
Arguments
Defence Arguments:
Senior Advocates Ramesh Gupta and Vikas Pahwa represented Kaur during the bail proceedings. Gupta argued that Kaur had no intention to cause harm and instead took steps to help the victim:
- She stopped a van to assist Singh.
- Used a taxi driver’s phone to contact her father-in-law after forgetting her own inside the car.
- Rushed Singh to a hospital within 21 minutes despite sustaining injuries herself.
Gupta stressed that her actions demonstrated an intent to save lives. He also dismissed allegations about not taking Singh to the nearest hospital, citing that the choice of hospital should not be held against her.
Prosecution’s Stand:
The Investigating Officer (IO) and the complainant’s counsel strongly opposed the bail, raising doubts about Kaur’s conduct:
- CCTV footage showed Kaur walking before hospital admission.
- The hospital chosen was allegedly owned by her relatives.
- The complainant, Singh’s wife, claimed she urged Kaur to take her husband to Safdarjung Hospital (closer), but Kaur insisted on another facility.
- Allegations that Kaur left Singh unattended on a stretcher and got herself admitted to the ICU.
- A medico-legal certificate was allegedly falsified, and police were not informed for five hours.
The complainant’s counsel argued that Kaur’s conduct reflected malafide intent and risked potential tampering with evidence.
Court’s Directions
The Court also noted procedural lapses and directed the IO to explain why the case diary was not paginated. The Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) sought more time as he had not been fully briefed by the IO.
Meanwhile, the Court has issued notice on Kaur’s application seeking preservation of CCTV footage from the accident site.