New Delhi, Sep 10, 6:13PM The Supreme Court on Thursday said it is not transferring to itself the Satya Niketan building collapse case being heard by the Delhi High Court as "things have started moving".
A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahdevan said it does not want to disturb the existing situation and the high court will continue to monitor the compliance of its directions in a short interval.
The five-storey building housing a boys' paying guest (PG) accommodation in Satya Niketan, near Delhi University's South Campus, collapsed on Sunday, leaving seven people dead and 12 injured.
Senior advocate Ajit Sinha, who has been appointed amicus curiae in the matter, submitted that he has come to know through his sources and media reports that civic authorities have started acting against unauthorised constructions and PG accommodations and anything beyond four storeys is being demolished.
"In my view, if the case is transferred, everything will stop," Sinha submitted.
He, however, insisted that the top court's earlier direction for action against unauthorised construction and land use change, where residential buildings are used for commercial purposes, should be complied with.
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), also urged the bench not to transfer the case from the high court as civic authorities were acting in a more focused manner.
The bench accepted the suggestion of the amicus curiae and the SG, and said it is not transferring the case and that its earlier directions against unauthorised construction shall be complied with.
During the brief hearing in the matter, Sinha referred to gyms, coaching centres and BPOs as other establishments where violations similar to the case of the Satya Niketan building could arise.
He also informed the court that inspections had found buildings in the Saidulajab area where around 500 people were employed in a small coaching centre.
Justice Amanullah remarked that these coaching institutes pack hundreds of students into one room, where there are no adequate ingress or egress openings.
The judge indicated that the court had initially intended to focus on the misuse of land, particularly in residential areas, and unauthorised constructions.
The bench then directed the authorities to file affidavits before it on action taken on issues concerning violations of building bye-laws and land-use regulations and compliance with its earlier orders. It posted the matter for hearing on September 15.
It said directions were issued on March 25 asking municipal corporations and municipalities in the capital cities of all states and Union territories to conduct a comprehensive exercise to identify residential areas being used for non-residential purposes.
In an August 5 order, the court noted that the required physical survey in specified areas under the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the MCD had not been completed and directed the two bodies to provide competent draftsmen to carry out the exercise. It had also directed a similar survey in the Aliganj area of Lucknow and sought reports.
The building owner, his wife and son have been arrested, while five MCD officials have been suspended in connection with Sunday's collapse.
On September 8, the top court had said that if necessary, it might transfer the Satya Niketan building collapse case from the Delhi High Court.
The Supreme Court, which is already dealing with issues related to unauthorised constructions in residential areas, fire safety and conversion of residential buildings into commercial establishments in violation of norms across India, was urged by amicus curiae Sinha to take up urgently the matter related to the building collapse.
He had said necessary directions could be passed with regard to allowing the court-appointed committee to conduct inspections beyond the areas presently identified by the court like Lajpat Nagar, Malviya Nagar and Saket in the national capital.
He had said the directions might be issued to authorities concerned to undertake a time-bound inspection and safety audit of PG accommodations, private hostels and similar student accommodation establishments situated in and around colleges and universities across Delhi.
"Such exercise ought to include verification of: (i) sanctioned building plans; (ii) actual construction and number of floors; (iii) basement construction and alterations; (iv) permissible land use; (v) structural safety; (vi) fire-safety compliance; (vii) means of ingress and egress; and (viii) the existence of any dangerous or ruinous condition," Sinha had said in his status report.
He had said this court was already seized of the issue of unauthorised and unsafe constructions in Delhi and by an order dated July 9, it had constituted a committee for carrying out inspection of buildings in the areas of Lajpat Nagar, Saket and Malviya Nagar.
The present incident was also required to be viewed in the context of another building collapse in Satya Niketan in April 2022, in which two persons lost their lives and four others were injured.
The high court had termed the incident "most unfortunate" and said such tragedies were a result of inadequate measures employed by the MCD and other authorities.
New Delhi, Sep 10, 3:40PM The Supreme Court on Thursday said it is not transferring to itself the Satya Niketan building collapse case being heard by the Delhi High Court as "things have started moving".
A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahdevan said it does not want to disturb the existing situation and the high court will continue to monitor the compliance of its directions in a short interval.
The five-storey building housing a boys' paying guest (PG) accommodation in Satya Niketan, near Delhi University's South Campus, collapsed around 1.30 pm on Sunday, leaving seven dead and 12 injured.
Senior advocate Ajit Sinha, who has been appointed amicus curiae in the matter, submitted that he has come to know through his sources and media reports that civic authorities have started acting against unauthorised constructions and PG accommodations and anything beyond four storeys is being demolished.
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), also urged the bench not to transfer the case from the high court as civic authorities were acting in a more focused manner.
The bench accepted the suggestion of the amicus curiae and the SG, and said it is not transferring the case and that its earlier directions against unauthorised construction shall be complied with.
On September 8, the top court had said that if necessary, it might transfer the case.
The building owner, his wife and son have been arrested, while five MCD officials have been suspended in connection with Sunday's collapse.
