Overview
- Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on February 25 refused pre-arrest bail to directors Himanshu and Kavish Gupta in the Janakpuri biker death case.
- The court found the fatal fall was preventable due to breached mandatory duties, citing an unbarricaded, roughly 14-foot-deep excavation on a busy road with no rescue or first-aid provisions.
- Investigators said CCTV and call records show signage and barricades were put up only after the accident and that police and medical help were not promptly alerted as the victim lay trapped for hours.
- The order emphasized that the Delhi Jal Board contract imposed a non-delegable public-safety duty on the primary contractor, rejecting defenses based on unauthorized subcontracting or insolvency proceedings.
- An FIR under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 105 for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, has led to arrests of a subcontractor and a labourer, with warrants against the directors still in force and a labourer’s bail plea awaiting a court decision.