NEW DELHI: The High Court on Wednesday sought a response from the Centre, the Delhi Government and Delhi University (DU) on a petition seeking hostel facilities in all the DU colleges.
A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia issued notice to the Centre, the Delhi government and DU and directed them to file their replies by September 25, when the matter will be taken up for hearing with another PIL on the same incident.
The bench, however, questioned the naming of the UGC as a respondent party in the petition and directed the petitioner to delete it from the array of parties. “PIL is a very serious business,” the bench said and directed the petitioner, National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) president Vinor Jhakar, to file an amended memo of parties within a week.
The bench was hearing the petition filed in the wake of the PG building collapse in Satya Niketan near Delhi University’s South Campus. The petitioner claimed that “the other PIL had different asks, including compensation for the kin of deceased and injured persons.”
“This petitioner said that it seeks a direction to every college to have hostel facilities for students. The HC on Monday had said the Satya Niketan case was “most unfortunate”, while it asked the authorities concerned to double up the efforts in the rescue operations “so that human lives can be saved”.
The court directed the MCD to conduct an audit of PGs and hostels within one week. The bench said not only the building owners but also the MCD and the DU, which has failed to provide adequate housing facilities are also responsible for it.