New Delhi: Roads cannot be allowed to become death traps where human lives become the collateral damage of contractual work, Delhi High Court said on Wednesday, dismissing the anticipatory bail of two contractors in connection with the death of a 25-year-old biker who fell into a pit in Janakpuri earlier this month.Kamal Dhyani, an employee of a private bank in Rohini, died after his motorcycle plunged into a 14-foot-deep pit on the intervening night of Feb 5-6.“In this court’s opinion, the public roads cannot be allowed to convert into death traps, reduce human life to the collateral damage of contractual work, and the accused cannot be allowed to evade responsibility thereafter,” Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed. Dhyani’s death was “preventable”, the court said. “It is high time the citizens of Delhi are no longer taken for granted and their lives are valued,” it said while dismissing the pre-arrest bail applications.“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,” the judge said. “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 court said that a young life was lost due to human negligence and, for the accused, self-protection was more important than saving a life.According to the contract, Himanshu Gupta and Kavish Gupta were duty-bound to ensure adequate safety arrangements at the site, including the availability of necessary rescue equipment if a person or vehicle fell into the dig, the court observed. The provision of first aid facilities, and prompt intimation to the police and medical authorities were also requirements in the contract.The “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, the judge said.In its order, the court recorded the “apparent attempt” by the two accused and their sub-contractor to shield themselves by “hurriedly placing signage and barricades” at the spot instead of helping Dhyani.“It is most disturbing to note that even after the accident, no medical assistance was arranged for, the police were not informed, and no emergency response was sought despite the 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 the accused persons, self-protection from the hands of the law was more important to them than saving a human life,” it said. The court stressed 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 person.The accused were not only awarded a contract and work order by Delhi Jal Board, but were also entrusted with a public duty to exercise care and caution, and to strictly adhere to legitimately expected safety precautions, the court said.It asserted that the 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 Oct 2025. A trial court dismissed the anticipatory bail pleas of the contractors earlier this month.
