A local court in Delhi has determined that there is enough evidence to bring negligence charges against the management of Rau's IAS Study Circle, one of Delhi's top Civil Service exam coaching institutes and the building's owners, nearly five months after three students drowned in its basement.

In his order from last Wednesday, December 4, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Nishant Garg stated that Rau's Chief Executive Officer, Abhishek Gupta, and another employee, Deshpal Singh, who were in charge of the institute's day-to-day operations, knew that the basement could not be used as a library and exam hall, reports The Print.

“They allowed the students to study there for long hours; they were aware that water used to collect in the basement and despite that, risked the lives of students,” Garg noted in his order taking cognisance of a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheet.

“The accused persons failed to take any steps to prevent the water from entering into the basement and instead used/allowed the basement to be used as library/exam hall where students used to remain present for long hours,” he added, as per a report by The Print.

The CBI took over the investigation from the Delhi Police on the orders of the Delhi High Court after an initial investigation revealed that the institute had violated several safety standards, resulting in the drowning of three students, namely 25-year-old Shreya Yadav from Uttar Pradesh, 25-year-old Tanya Soni from Telangana, and 24-year-old Nevin Delvin from Kerala.

About 30 students were trapped in the basement when a steel barrier designed to stop water flow from the flooded road into the institute broke, flooding the basement.