The correspondent of the Zion group of schools, who was arrested on July 26 in connection with the death of six-year-old Shruthi after falling through a hole in the floor of the school bus a day earlier, has approached the Madras high court for bail.
Justice M.M. Sundresh before whom the bail petition of correspondent N. Vijayan came up for hearing posted it to August 6.
The petitioner contended that one R. Yogesh Sivaira was the contractor of the bus in question. The vehicle was sent for a fitness certificate to the RTO, Tambaram, and this was awarded on July 9 after inspection. Vijayan contended that he had ensured that all safety norms were followed during the transportation of students and the accident on July 25 was not anticipated.
The petitioner said that his name has been included in the FIR as the owner of the bus and by fastening vicarious liability that cannot be sustained in criminal law, adding that he has been falsely implicated in the case. No custodial interrogation was necessary as all the evidence was borne out by records, he said.
The interest of the students and the teachers of the school was affected by his detention, the petitioner said, adding that the day-to-day operation of the school was jeopardised. Vijayan said that he was innocent and has not committed any offence.
Similarly, P. Rajasekaran, the motor vehicle inspector also filed a bail application.