NEW DELHI: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Supreme Court (SC) by a lawyer seeking guidelines and the creation of a National Minimum Fire and Life Safety Framework (NMFLSN) for all high-risk public occupancy premises, including schools, coaching centres, hotels, hospitals, and commercial complexes.
The petition, filed in the apex court by advocate Narendra Kumar Goswami, comes in the wake of two devastating fire incidents this month, the Malviya Nagar guest house fire in Delhi, which killed 22 people and the Aliganj coaching centre fire in Lucknow, which claimed another 15 lives.
The petitioner, Goswami, has filed the plea in the top court invoking Articles 14, 19(1)(g), 21, and 21-A of the Constitution, arguing that the recurring pattern of preventable fire fatalities constitutes a systemic failure.
Goswami, talking to TNIE, said that the right to life under Article 21 is not a right to be rescued after a fire accident but instead the right to be protected from being exposed to such tragedies by a regulatory State that has the power, the codes, and the duty to prevent such danger.
The petition cited recurring tragedies and sought mandatory audits, public digital dashboard, and strict liability compensation among other things.
A source in the top court registry said that the matter is likely to come up for hearing very soon, keeping in view the sensitivity of the matter.
"The petition may come up for hearing in the top court soon even in the partial working days (Earlier called as Vacation bench)," the source stated.
The petition sought an appropriate order from the top court for directing the Respondents -- Union of India, NDMA, DGFS, BIS, NCPCR, and others -- in consultation with all the States/UTs, to frame within a time-bound period a "National Minimum Fire and Life Safety Compliance, Audit, Disclosure and Accountability Framework" for high-risk public occupancy premises.
"Direct that the said framework shall cover, at minimum, schools, coaching centres, tuition centres, libraries used by students, hostels/PGs, hotels, guest houses, bed-and-breakfast establishments, restaurants, banquet halls, marriage halls, gaming/entertainment zones, malls, cinema halls, hospitals, nursing homes, clinics above a prescribed risk threshold and other high-footfall commercial premises," the plea stated.
Goswami also sought the SC to direct all the States/ UTs to conduct, within 90/120 days, a special fire and life-safety audit of high-risk public occupancy premises in their jurisdiction, prioritising coaching hubs, schools, hostels/PGs, hotels/guest houses/B&Bs, restaurants/banquet halls, gaming zones, malls and hospitals.
The plea also urged the States/UTs to file status affidavits before the court, giving district-wise data of high-risk premises: total number, number with valid fire NOC, number without fire NOC, number with expired fire NOC, number with occupancy/building-use certificate, number sealed/prosecuted, number granted time-bound rectification and number posing imminent risk.
The plea also sought to ban hazardous spaces, prohibit the use of basements, rooftops, and temporary structures for classrooms, coaching, or public assembly without explicit safety approval.
"Introduce tamper-proof, QR-coded fire safety certificates carrying severe penal consequences for false certification. Constitute District Fire and Life Safety Enforcement Committees headed by District Magistrates. There is a need to establish a strict liability compensation protocol for victims of fires occurring in non-compliant premises," the plea highlighted.
The petition relied on the Supreme Court's own landmark observations in Avinash Mehrotra versus Union of India (2009), which held that safe school conditions are integral to Articles 21 and 21-A.
Citing over two decades of fire incidentallegedly caused by structural lapses—from Uphaar Cinema (1997, 59 deaths), Kumbakonam School (2004, 94 deaths), AMRI Hospital (2011), Surat Coaching Centre (2019, 22 deaths), Anaj Mandi (2019, 40+ deaths), Rajkot Game Zone (2024), to the recent 2026 tragedies in Delhi and Lucknow—the petition argued that isolated FIRs and post-facto inquiry committees are insufficient to deal with such incidents.
"India does not lack laws. India lacks enforcement. The citizen does not die because fire is unknown; the citizen dies because the State knows the danger, licenses the danger, ignores the danger, and wakes up only after bodies are counted," the petitioner stated in his pre-litigation representation to the authorities.
Acknowledging that fire services fall under the State List of the Seventh Schedule, the petition contended that "fundamental rights are national promises."
It argued that the Union government's prior circulation of the Model Fire Service Bill, 2019, and the Scheme for Expansion and Modernisation of Fire Services demonstrate that national coordination is already within governmental contemplation.