New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday granted bail to Kesar Negi, the head chef arrested in connection with the Malviya Nagar hotel fire tragedy. It observed that “merely because the applicant was present in the kitchen and was performing his assigned duties cannot be equated with criminal negligence or with responsibility for the safety of the entire hotel.”Additional sessions judge Samar Vishal held that routinely operating kitchen appliances “cannot, by itself, lead to an inference that he was criminally negligent or legally responsible for the unfortunate incident.”The court also noted that the prosecution had failed to show that Negi bore any responsibility for the “structural design of the building, installation or maintenance of the LPG system, fire safety mechanisms, electrical wiring, or procurement of statutory licences.” These matters, Judge Vishal observed, “prima facie fall within the domain of the owner and the management of the establishment and not that of a salaried chef.”Appearing for Negi, advocate Deepak Prakash argued that his client had been “falsely implicated” and was merely a salaried chef with no ownership, managerial or supervisory role in the Flourish Inn bed and breakfast establishment in Malviya Nagar. He submitted that the FIR did not attribute any specific negligent act to Negi.Claiming an unblemished professional record, the defence said Negi acted prudently by switching off the power supply and alerting the manager after noticing the fire. It alleged that he was being made a “scapegoat.”Opposing the plea, the prosecution relied on the statement of hotel receptionist Rupesh Kumar and Negi’s disclosure statement to contend that, as part of his routine duties, the chef had switched on the electric oil fryer and other kitchen appliances during the morning preparations before noticing a fire near the fryer. It alleged that the LPG hose pipe subsequently caught fire, resulting in leakage and the rapid spread of flames.The court, however, noted the state’s own submission that “even according to the prosecution, the precise cause of the fire has not yet been scientifically established.”“Performance of those routine duties cannot, without more, be treated as constituting culpable negligence or criminal liability,” the court said, adding that the “pendency of expert reports cannot, by itself, justify indefinite incarceration.”Twenty-two people were killed and dozens injured after a fire ripped through the multi-storey B&B in Delhi’s Hauz Rani on June 3, leading to the arrest of the owner, an accountant and Negi.
