The court ruled: “In these circumstances, it cannot be said that only the basement of the building in question is the subject of the investigation and the other floors have no relation to the investigation. The basement cannot be treated as a separate entity, taking into account the safety of the building.”

“I am therefore of the view that there is no sufficient reason to grant access to the upper floors of the building. The application has, therefore, been rejected,” ACJM Garg ordered on August 28.

It was found that the lack of access to the upper floors is hampering the studies of 1025 students. It was also stated that 558 students were attending online classes while 551 students were having classes in hybrid mode. It was also stated that students are constantly asking for the resumption of classes. Along with the request, 121 emails were submitted to substantiate the demand.

The court stated that it was interesting that 105 out of 121 emails were sent by the students on a single day, namely August 10, 2024. The remaining emails were sent on August 11, 2024 or August 22, 2024.

It is not clear what prompted the students to ask for resumption of classes on a single day. The content of most of the students' emails is similar and in many cases identical. In these circumstances, the authenticity of these emails is highly questionable,” the court said in the order.

To protect the interests of the students who have opted for offline or hybrid coaching and admittedly paid more than the purely online students, the accused/candidate/representative can conduct the classes at any other suitable location, the court said. RAU's IAS Study Circle coaching was closed after three civil service aspirants drowned in a flooded basement.

Senior counsel Rebecca John had argued that we just want the building to be back in use so that students can continue to learn. That is my only objection.

She further stated that the investigating authority could not seal off the building because that was the job of other civil authorities.

“They (the CBI) can prosecute me (Gupta) but they cannot stop me from going inside… that is the job of another agency. If the CBI wants the building sealed, ask someone else to do it,” she added.

The CBI had opposed the applications, claiming that the basement was to be used for storage purposes. The incident occurred because the basement was being used as a library.

The agency also said there were no security measures in the building. An incident like this could happen again, it added.

Lawyer Abhijeet Anand, counsel for one of the victims, said the Supreme Court had ruled that a training centre could not be run in the building without security measures.

Addressing the CBI, the court said, “You have never alleged that the building is illegal. Have you sealed the upper floors?” The CBI's reply was negative.

“If they have not sealed the building, how can they stop me (Gupta) from going inside?” John said. She added that the building met all safety norms. “Suppose this was a building where I (Gupta) live, could I have been stopped from going inside?” she had submitted in court.

It was also alleged that the CBI has not arrested a single officer. “Just pick up weak people and put them in jail.”

First published: August 28, 2024 | 9:40 p.m. IS