‘Don’t File Petition In Air’: Delhi HC Rejects Urgent Satya Niketan Plea

On Monday, the Delhi High Court declined an urgent hearing on a plea challenging the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s plan to demolish the structure next to the Satya Niketan hostel that collapsed last week. The petitioner’s lawyer asked Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia’s Bench to take it up the same day, but the court said it would be auto-listed on Tuesday.

The lawyer told the court that the civic authorities moved ahead before the debris in the hostel’s basement had been cleared and warned that students could still be trapped. The Bench responded that the agency would have relied on a technical audit and told counsel not to file a petition “in air”.

The petition concerns the adjoining building near the Satya Niketan structure that fell last week. That collapse left at least seven people dead and five others injured.

Collapse And Casualties

The collapse took place on September 6. A five-storey building in Satya Niketan that housed Delhi University students fell last Sunday. It was a boys’ paying-guest accommodation known as Hostel Daze near South Campus.

Police stated that repairs were under way on the ground floor when the building gave way around 1:30 pm. Officers estimated the structure to be 40-50 years old.

At least seven people were killed and five were injured. Police arrested the property owner, Hariram Gupta, 81, a Gurgaon resident, and filed an FIR at South Campus police station against Gupta and unidentified others under BNS sections 105, 290 and 125.

Court Rejects Urgency

The Bench questioned the basis for the plea.

The petitioner’s lawyer told the court that demolition had begun before all the rubble from the collapsed building had been removed. The lawyer also said some people might still be trapped and asked for the matter to be heard urgently.

“What's the source of the information that there are people below the debris? How do you know? They must’ve conducted some type of technical audit before deciding to demolish the adjoining building. No sorry. File it, it will be auto listed tomorrow. What’s so urgent? You should not file the petition just in air,” the Bench said.

“What is the technical information available to you? How do you know? It’s all your guesswork, that there might be some people. You should have some basis for making such submissions. You file it, it will be auto listed”, it added.

Inquiry And Demolition

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta ordered a magisterial inquiry into the collapse. On September 7, the high court also directed a high-level MCD inquiry and said the government could not evade responsibility. It added that the incident was not only unfortunate, but also raised deep concern about inadequate housing facilities, including hostels run by Delhi University or the government, the safety and security of students, and the not-so-adequate measures used by the MCD and other authorities to regulate such PG facilities.

Two days after the collapse, on September 8, MCD began a controlled demolition of the adjoining building after declaring it dangerous. The adjacent property housed a girls’ paying-guest accommodation and was evacuated after the neighbouring structure collapsed.