Hotel owner gets interim bail

Rajneesh Lakhanpal

Our Legal Correspondent

Ludhiana, December 11

The court of Additional Sessions Judge JPS Khurmi today granted interim anticipatory bail to Grand Marian Hotel’s director-cum-secretary of the District Bar Association (DBA) Chetan Verma.

Two days ago, hotel owner Chetan, along with managing director of hotel Suraj Parkash, were booked by the police after two persons, Deepak and Armaan, were asphyxiated by gases while cleaning sewerage in the basement of Hotel Grand Marian.

While granting bail, the court directed the DBA secretary to join investigation on three days, December 17, 18 and 19, between 9 am and 11 am. The court directed the police to produce record on December 20 for hearing final arguments.

Earlier, the police had registered an FIR under Section 304 A (causing death by negligence), IPC, along with Section 8 and 9 of The Protection of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013.

Yesterday, the police converted Section 304 A, IPC, into 304 (culpable homicide), which is a non-bailable section, apart from Section 3 and 10 of the SC & ST Act.

In its anticipatory bail application, the DBA secretary has claimed that he was merely a sleeping director in the hotel management. He was not looking after day to day affairs of the Hotel. The entire management and day to day business was being handled by the managing director of hotel, Suraj Parkash. So, he could not be held liable.

At the time of incident, Chetan was present at the National Lok Adalat. So when he was not present at the spot, how he could be held liable. Moreover, there was not even a tinge of allegation against him in the FIR.

Meanwhile, Duty Magistrate Devnoor Singh remanded Suraj Parkash in one-day police custody.

Lawyers observe strike 

Resentment prevails among the legal fraternity over stringent sections added to the FIR against Chetan. Lawyers, under the leadership of Harjot Singh Harikay, officiating president, held a meeting at the lawyers’ conference hall and decided to observe strike. The police were acting in haste without listening to them, they added. Sham Sunder Ahuja said earlier the police registered the case under Section 304-A of the IPC. But without any proper investigation, serious offences were added to the FIR. Former DBA president Vijay B Verma, father of Chetan, said how a person could be booked under Section 304 of the IPC (culpable homicide) when he was not present on the spot.