'Public roads can't become death traps': HC refuses bail to contractors in biker death case

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to grant anticipatory bail to two contractors in connection with the death of a 25-year-old biker who fell into a pit in Janakpuri, observing that public roads cannot be allowed to convert into death traps. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said as per the contract, Himanshu Gupta and Kavish Gupta were duty bound to ensure adequate safety arrangements at the site, including availability of necessary rescue equipment if a person or vehicle fell into the dig, provision of first aid facilities, and prompt intimation to the police and medical authorities. The judge remarked that an "untoward incident" was "inevitable" when the pit, measuring about 20 feet in length, 13 feet in width and 14 feet in depth, was dug in the middle of a busy road in utter violation of the work permit conditions, tender conditions and traffic police conditions, without any blinkers, barricades, or safety measures.

"It is high time that the citizens of Delhi are no longer taken for granted and their lives are valued. Incidents such as the present one cannot be treated as only violations of the terms of a contract. "In this court's opinion, the public roads cannot be allowed to convert into death traps, reduce human life to collateral damage of contractual work, and they cannot be allowed to evade responsibility thereafter," said the judge while pronouncing the verdict. Dismissing the applications for pre-arrest bail, the court said "a message must also go to the community that a person or entity, awarded a public contract, undertakes it with responsibility, and if such responsibility is abdicated, accountability and the law must follow". Suffice it to say, the precious lives of the general public cannot be left to the mercy of God while excavation work is carried out on busy roads without ensuring basic safety, the judge added.

Kamal Dhyani, 25, an employee with a private bank in Rohini, died after his motorcycle plunged into the pit on the intervening night of February 5-6. In its order, the court stated that the "apparent attempt" by the two accused and their sub-contractor to shield themselves after the incident shocked its consciousness as the material showed them "hurriedly placing signage and barricades" at the spot instead of helping the victim. "It is most disturbing to note that even after the accident, no medical assistance was arranged, the police were not informed and no emergency response was sought despite knowledge that the victim lay in the pit struggling for his life. The reckless disregard for human life, as reflected from the material on record suggests that for accused persons, self-protection from hands of law was more important to them than saving a human life," the court noted. It stated that the primary liability in the contract rested with the company of the accused persons and the absence of even elementary safety measures culminated in the death of an innocent citizen. The accused were not only awarded a contract and work order by the Delhi Jal Board, but also entrusted a public duty upon the contractor to exercise care and caution, and strictly adhere to legitimately expected safety precautions at the site, the court said.

It asserted that blame-game must now come to an end and neither the authorities nor the persons involved can shirk responsibility and treat the present incident merely as an accident when it was preventable. The court also noted that work was awarded to the accused's company with their knowledge and a subcontract was issued by the company in June 2025, prior to the award of the main contract in October 2025. A trial court dismissed the anticipatory bail pleas of the two contractors earlier this month.