New Delhi, A Delhi court has taken cognisance of a chargesheet filed by the police in the Malviya Nagar hotel fire case, where 23 people lost their lives on June 3 this year.
Judicial Magistrate Bhanu Pratap was hearing arguments on consideration of the chargesheet filed against the hotel owner Lavkesh Bajaj and two others for allegedly flouting bed-and-breakfast rules to run the 26-room establishment despite the rejection of an earlier application for a hotel licence.
In an order dated September 3, the court said, "The present chargesheet has been filed against three accused…Perusal of the chargesheet reveals that the allegations levelled against the accused persons and the material on record is prima facie sufficient to proceed with the case. Accordingly, this court takes cognisance of the offences mentioned in the charge sheet."
Earlier, on September 1, Delhi Police chargesheeted Bajaj, Jay Mishra, the manager-cum-accountant, and Keshav Negi, the cook, in the hotel fire case, alleging that the establishment was being operated in violation of B&B norms, which permitted only six rooms.
The court said there were sufficient grounds to proceed against all three accused persons and listed the matter for arguments on charge for September 17.
