• Source:JND
HighLights
  1. Delhi HC calls Satya Niketan collapse "most unfortunate".
  2. Court orders MCD to audit all PGs within one week.
  3. Responsibility for student safety lies with authorities and owners.

A day after a multi-storey PG accommodation collapsed in Satya Niketan in southwest Delhi, leaving seven people dead and several others injured, the Delhi High Court on Monday termed the incident “most unfortunate” and came down heavily on the authorities over the deadly collapse.

The court observed that the tragedy “could have been avoided” had the concerned authorities been alive to the duties cast upon them.

The Delhi High Court directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to conduct an audit of PG accommodations and hostels within one week. It observed that responsibility for the safety of students lies not only with building owners but also with the concerned authorities.

The court further observed that had the authorities properly discharged their statutory duties, such incidents could have been avoided.

The MCD was also asked to explain whether any regulatory framework exists for PG accommodations and to provide details regarding valid building permissions and any lapses on the part of the concerned authorities.

The court also directed Delhi University to provide details of outstation students and the hostel facilities available to them.

The Delhi High Court noted that inadequate hostel facilities often force students from outside Delhi to depend on PG accommodations, raising concerns over their safety and regulatory oversight.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia directed the authorities to step up rescue efforts so that more lives could be saved.

ALSO READ: Satya Niketan Building Collapse Exposes Delhi’s PG Crisis, But Do Students Have Other Options?

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented the Centre, the Delhi government, the Delhi Police and the MCD in the matter, assured the court that all possible steps were being taken to rescue those trapped under the debris.

He said the government was actively monitoring the situation and that some time was needed. Mehta assured the court that the authorities would take all decisions in the interest of everyone concerned and that no stone would be left unturned.

ALSO READ: Satya Niketan Building Collapse: Owner Arrested From Bhiwadi, 5 MCD Officials Suspended; Death Toll Rises To 7 | Updates

The order came as the HC was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) concerning the building collapse in Satya Niketan, where the building was being used as a boys’ PG accommodation and around 50 students were reportedly staying. The incident claimed seven lives, while rescue teams pulled several people from the debris and shifted the injured to hospitals.

The building in Satya Niketan, which housed a boys’ paying guest (PG) accommodation near Delhi University’s (DU) South Campus, collapsed on Sunday while repair work was underway.


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