Delhi Fire Tragedy: Court Denies Bail to Cook Kesar Negi in Case That Claimed 22 Lives

June 9, 2026 : Delhi’s Saket Court has denied bail to Kesar Negi, the cook arrested in connection with the devastating fire at Flourish Stays B&B in the Hauz Rani area of Malviya Nagar, which claimed 22 lives, including 13 foreign nationals.

Judicial Magistrate First Class Bhanu Pratap Singh on Monday rejected Negi’s bail application and remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days. The court also extended the police custody of hotel owner Lavkesh Bajaj by two more days to facilitate the ongoing investigation into the incident.

Negi and Bajaj were arrested on allegations of negligence following the fatal fire. In his bail plea, Negi argued that he was being unfairly blamed for safety failures and statutory violations that were the responsibility of the hotel’s owners and management.

The petition stated that Negi was merely a salaried chef with no authority over the property’s fire-safety infrastructure, regulatory compliance, or operational management. It contended that factors allegedly responsible for the rapid spread of the fire, including the use and placement of LPG cylinders connected through rubber pipes, as well as the absence of critical safety measures such as fire extinguishers, alarms, sprinklers, emergency exits, and a valid fire no-objection certificate, were entirely within the control of the establishment’s proprietors.

Negi further claimed that the fire originated due to an electrical short circuit, which caused pipes to melt and led to a gas leak. According to the plea, he acted responsibly by switching off the electricity supply after noticing the fault. He also denied allegations that he had fled the premises without warning guests or staff about the fire.

The bail application, filed by advocates Deepak Prakash, Sriram Parakkat, Divyangna Malik, Priyamvada Solank, and Harshit Sharma, emphasized that Negi is an elderly and infirm resident of Uttarakhand. It argued that he satisfied the established criteria for bail, including the absence of flight risk, the likelihood of cooperating with the investigation, and the improbability of influencing witnesses or tampering with evidence.

Despite these submissions, the court declined to grant relief. With his bail plea rejected, Negi will remain in judicial custody while authorities continue investigating the circumstances surrounding the deadly fire and the alleged lapses in safety compliance.