New Delhi [India], January 17 (ANI): A Delhi court has discharged the owner of a residential flat, former Member of Parliament Kirip Chaliha, while holding that a prima facie case exists against the contractor in connection with the death of a labourer during renovation work at a Vasant Kunj apartment in 2020.

In an order dated January 16, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Neha Mittal at the Rouse Avenue District Courts discharged accused Kirip Chaliha in an FIR registered at Vasant Kunj South police station under Sections 288 and 304A of the Indian Penal Code, while directing that charges be framed against accused contractor Aabid. Advocate RHA Sikander appeared for Kirip Chaliha.

The case arose from a wall collapse at Kaveri Apartments in Vasant Kunj on June 1, 2020. While renovation work was going on, a labourer, Mosarul Gain, lost his life.

The prosecution alleged that the workers were made to carry out the renovation without safety gear or helmets. Examining the record, the court observed that the renovation and construction work was being carried out under the direct supervision of the contractor and that there was no material in the charge-sheet to indicate that the flat owner had managed, supervised, or interfered with the work at the site.

It held that criminal liability for the alleged negligence could not be fastened vicariously on the owner merely on account of property ownership.

The court further recorded admissions made by the contractor under Section 294 of the Code of Criminal Procedure with respect to formal documents, leading to the dropping of several prosecution witnesses.

Accepting submissions on jurisdiction, the court noted that the case had been assigned to the MP/MLA court only because Kirip Chaliha was a former MP, and with his discharge, the court no longer had the jurisdiction to try the matter.

Consequently, the case file was directed to be placed before the Principal District and Sessions Judge, RADC, New Delhi, for appropriate orders on January 19, 2026. The matter will now proceed to trial against the contractor alone. (ANI)