A Delhi Court on Thursday granted bail to Manoj Kathuria, an SUV driver and businessman, who was arrested in connection with the deaths of three civil services aspirants who drowned in the basement of an IAS coaching center in Old Rajinder Nagar, Delhi.

District Judge Rajesh Kumar Goel granted bail to Manoj Kathuria, who had been denied bail by a judicial magistrate the previous day. The three aspirants tragically died in a flooded basement at Rau's IAS coaching centre.

Kathuria is accused of causing a water wave that breached the entrance of the coaching center, leading to the flooding of the basement with rainwater. He was reportedly driving his SUV on the waterlogged road in front of the coaching center at the time.

In its status report filed today, the Delhi Police stated that it is not invoking Section 105 (Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code against Kathuria at this stage. Currently, the only charge against him is Section 281 (Rash driving or riding on a public way) of the IPC.

In addition to Kathuria, four co-owners of the basement—Parvinder Singh, Harvinder Singh, Sarabjit Singh, and Tajinder Singh—were also arrested. They were denied bail by the judicial magistrate the previous day.

APP Atul Srivastava represented the Delhi Police, while advocates Rakesh Malhotra, Bharat Malhotra, Sahil Ahuja, Kushal Malhotra, and RK Tripathi appeared for Kathuria. Advocate Amit Chadha represented the co-owners of the basement.

In a related development, the Delhi High Court heard a PIL yesterday calling for the formation of a High-Powered Committee to investigate the basement flooding incident. The bench criticized the Delhi government's "freebie" policies, stating that the focus on such policies has led to insufficient funds for essential infrastructure upgrades, including the city's drainage system, amidst the rapidly growing population.

ACJ Manmohan also questioned the Delhi Police about the arrest of the SUV driver, suggesting that there seems to be a lack of accountability and that various parties are trying to protect one another.

The ACJ remarked, "What is the police doing catching passersby—a driver—saying that 'because you have passed, the water has entered the basement'? Have you questioned the person who failed to do the desilting?"

The matter will be heard by the ACJ tomorrow at 2:30 PM. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has reportedly announced a compensation of ₹10 lakhs for the families of the three deceased civil services aspirants. The LG also assured that action will be taken against the responsible officials from Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Police, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) within 24 hours.