Kesar Negi, a cook recently apprehended by Delhi Police in connection with the tragic hotel fire in Malviya Nagar, has submitted a bail application to the Saket court. The fire incident in Hauz Rani, Malviya Nagar, resulted in the unfortunate deaths of 22 individuals, including 13 foreign nationals, at the Flourish Stays B&B.
Negi, alongside the hotel owner Lovkesh Bajaj, faces charges of negligence. In his plea, filed in the South district court, Negi claims he is being unfairly targeted as a scapegoat for broader institutional safety lapses and regulatory violations by the hotel proprietors. The plea emphasizes that Negi, as a salaried chef, had no authority over the hotel’s fire safety systems.
“The rapid fire spread cited in the Reasons of Arrest is due to the LPG cylinders connected by rubber pipes that melted and leaked. However, the responsibility for choosing such piping, cylinder placement, and the lack of extinguishers, alarms, sprinklers, emergency exits, and a valid fire NOC lies solely with the hotel’s owners and management,” states the plea.
The plea further attributes the fire outbreak to an electrical short circuit, which caused the pipes to melt. Negi asserts that he acted responsibly by turning off the electricity switches upon realizing the electrical fault was the fire’s cause.
Negi refutes accusations of leaving the scene without alerting others. “The applicant had neither the knowledge nor intent to cause such significant harm. He was merely fulfilling his duties as a cook. Such intent or knowledge is crucial for the charge of culpable homicide under Section 105 read with Section 100 BNS, and without it, the charge cannot be upheld,” the plea argues.
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Originally from Uttarakhand, Negi argues for his bail by highlighting that he is an elderly, infirm senior citizen meeting the criteria for bail. “He poses no flight risk, being a permanent Delhi resident with family ties. He cannot tamper with evidence as the scene has been forensically secured, nor can he influence witnesses, who are mainly police personnel and documentary and forensic evidence,” states the plea.
The plea was submitted by advocates Deepak Prakash, Sriram Parakkat, Divyangna Malik, Priyamvada Solank, and Harshit Sharma. In a related development, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami communicated with Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta regarding Negi’s arrest, calling for an unbiased inquiry. Gupta assured a transparent investigation into the case.
