Mercifully, you haven't fined rainwater: HC to cops for SUV driver's arrest in IAS aspirants' death

New Delhi: "Mercifully, you have not challaned the rainwater for entering the basement" of the coaching centre, the Delhi High Court said Friday, slamming the police for arresting a man for driving his car through a flooded road that caused the water to swell and gush into the building.

The driver, Manuj Kathuria, was granted bail by a court here on Thursday, saying the accused was "implicated in over-enthusiasm" in the case.

The high court on Friday pulled up the police for not questioning any Municipal Corporation of Delhi official till now or even seizing the relevant file from the civic body, which could have been an important piece of evidence.

The way the police were proceeding in the matter, it could have "fined the water, saying 'how dare it enter the coaching centre's basement'", said a bench of Acting Chief Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.

"You (police) have not even called a minion for questioning," it said.

"Mercifully, you have not challaned the rainwater for entering into the basement. You would have said how dare the water enter the basement. You could have fined the water also, the way you arrested the SUV driver for driving his car there," the bench said.

It said police are respected when they book a culprit and leave an innocent. But when the police book an innocent and leave a culprit, it is very sad, it added.

"We are going to have these tragedies day after day and we will have these tragedies every monsoon... Be ready for all this.

"Water is not going to spare anyone. It does not know anyone's address. Tragedy knows no one's address. You can't fight nature's fury. You have to allow nature to function. You have to allow stormwater and sewage drains to function," the bench told the authorities.

Manuj Kathuria was granted bail after the prosecution informed the local court that they have decided to drop a harsher charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against him.

On July 31, the high court castigated the police for its "strange" probe by arresting the car driver.

"What is Delhi Police doing? Have they lost it? What are its officials who are monitoring the probe doing? This is a cover-up or what?" the high court had said while hearing a PIL seeking a probe into the incident.

The Delhi High Court on Friday transferred the probe into the drowning of three civil services aspirants to the CBI "to ensure the public has no doubt over the investigation".

It asked the Central Vigilance Commission to nominate a senior officer to oversee the probe by the CBI into the criminal case in a time-bound manner.