New Delhi: The four jailed co-owners of a coaching centre basement where three civil service aspirants drowned last month on Friday told a Delhi court that the incident was an "act of god, which could have been avoided had the civic agencies performed their duties."
The accused -- Parvinder Singh, Tajinder Singh, Harvinder Singh, and Sarbjit Singh -- made the submission before Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna while seeking bail in the case.
"It was an act of god which happened and it could have been avoided had the civic agencies performed their onerous duties which they have miserably failed to do," the lawyer for the four accused told the judge.
The counsel submitted that the basement was not a library but a waiting area for the students before classes.
"The basement was not a library but a waiting area where students could go and sit and self study. The lease deed does not talk about library but it said that it was to be used for coaching purpose," he said.
The counsel claimed that a fire department inspection was done at the premises a few days before the incident occurred.
He claimed that the report given by the fire department after inspection pointed out that basement was being used for storage purpose and the building was safe and fit to run an educational centre.
The counsel also submitted that in order to invoke the section for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, there has to be intention to commit the crime along with knowledge.
"Where do they derive knowledge. Had I given the property thinking that I will construct a basement and one day when it will rain I will commit a death. There has to be a proximity link," he added.
The counsel further told the judge that the four accused did not evade arrest and had rather on their own gone to the police station after they got to know about the incident.
The judge listed the matter for August 12 when the defence counsel will continue his submissions.
The Delhi High Court recently transferred the probe into the deaths in the basement of the coaching centre building in Old Rajinder Nagar from police to the CBI "to ensure the public has no doubt over the investigation."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)