Delhi building collapse: HC refuses urgent listing of plea over demolition of adjoining structure

The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to urgently list a plea raising concerns over the MCD‘s decision to demolish the building adjoining the Satya Niketan hostel that collapsed last week.

A lawyer told a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia that the authorities proceeded with the demolition without removing the debris from the hostel’s basement and some people may still be trapped. The lawyer mentioned the matter for an urgent hearing.

The court observed that the authorities must have conducted an audit before demolishing the adjoining building and asked the lawyer not to file a petition “in air”.

“What’s the source of information that there are persons below the debris? How do you know? They must have conducted some type of technical audit before deciding to demolish the adjoining building. It’s all your guesswork that there might be some people. You should have some basis of making such submissions,” the court told the lawyer.

Stating that the plea would be listed on its turn, the bench added, “What’s so urgent? You should not file the petition just in air. What is the technical information available to you?”

The building at Satya Niketan, which housed a boys’ paying-guest accommodation near Delhi University’s South Campus, collapsed on September 6 while repair work was underway.

The high court, on September 7, ordered a high-level MCD inquiry into the building collapse incident at Satya Niketan that left seven people dead and made it clear that the government cannot evade responsibility.

It said the incident was not only unfortunate, but it also evoked deep concern about inadequate housing facilities, including hostels run by Delhi University or the government, safety and security of students and not-so-adequate measures employed by the MCD and other authorities to regulate such PG facilities.

Also Read: BRICS closure leaves Janpath’s small traders counting the cost

On September 8, the civic authority began a controlled demolition of the building adjoining the collapsed hostel after terming it dangerous.

The building housed a girls’ paying-guest accommodation and was evacuated after the collapse of the neighbouring five-storey structure.