High Court transfers probe into Delhi coaching centre deaths to CBI

'Mercifully, you have not challaned the rainwater,' the court raps police for SUV driver's arrest

In a significant development, the Delhi High Court on Friday ordered the transfer of the investigation into the drowning of three civil services aspirants at a coaching centre's basement from the Delhi Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court's decision came in response to a plea seeking a highlevel committee to investigate the deaths that occurred on July 27 in Old Rajinder Nagar.

A bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela criticised the Delhi Police's handling of the case, particularly their arrest of an SUV driver whom they blamed for the incident. In a scathing remark, the court 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," it said.