NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it is considering a detailed examination of building safety on a pan-India basis after the horrific Satya Niketan building collapse incident of September 6 in Delhi, which left seven people dead and injured at least five.
During the mentioning on Tuesday, amicus curiae (friend of the court) and senior advocate Ajit Kumar Sinha, appointed in an ongoing pan-India matter concerning unauthorised constructions, narrated the details of the Satya Niketan tragedy and filed a status report after inspecting the site along with an IIT professor and MCD officials.
Sinha urged the top court to issue directions for a detailed safety audit of paying guest (PG) accommodations, private hostels and student housing in and around colleges and universities across Delhi.
A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan said it would consider on September 10 whether the matter pending before the Delhi High Court should be transferred to the Supreme Court.
"We have something in mind. It has to be on a pan-India basis. We may get it (petition before Delhi High Court) transferred here. This is a serious issue. The issues dealt with by the High Court are overlapping with one considered by this court on pan-India basis," the bench observed.
The top court is already dealing with issues concerning unauthorised constructions in residential areas, fire safety and the conversion of residential properties into commercial establishments in violation of norms across the country.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi government, termed the incident "most unfortunate" and "horrific" and said, "Our heart goes out to the children and the parents."
Mehta also informed the court that the Delhi High Court had already ordered a high-level MCD inquiry into the incident, along with a magisterial probe and sealing of the illegally constructed floors.
The five-storey building in Satya Niketan, which housed a boys' PG near Delhi University's South Campus, collapsed around 1.30 pm on September 6 during repair work in its basement and ground floor. Seven people, including five students and two labourers, were killed and five others were injured.
The initial probe revealed that the building was around 50 years old and had originally been constructed as a ground-plus-one structure but was allegedly expanded illegally to five floors. Waterlogging was also reported at the site.
The Delhi High Court on Monday termed the incident "most unfortunate", ordered a high-level MCD inquiry and said the government could not evade responsibility. It observed that such tragedies were a result of inadequate measures by the MCD and other authorities.
Police arrested the building owner Hariram Gupta, his wife Urmila and their son Mahesh in connection with the incident. The MCD also suspended five officials, including the Deputy Commissioner of its South Zone.
Sinha told the Supreme Court that the Satya Niketan collapse was the second such incident in the locality after a building collapse in April 2022 that killed two people. He flagged what he described as enforcement failures relating to building bye-laws and fire safety standards.
The amicus sought further directions for time-bound inspections and safety audits of PG accommodations, private hostels and similar student housing facilities in and around college and university areas across Delhi.