Kiran Bedi moves Delhi HC in Satya Niketan building collapse case; Centre opposes

Retired IPS officer Kiran Bedi on Thursday approached the Delhi High Court seeking to be made a party in a matter concerning the collapse of a hostel building in Satya Niketan that left seven people dead.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, appearing for the Centre, Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), however, opposed Bedi’s application and sought time to file objections.

“What reply will you file? She is a conscientious citizen of the country. She has administrative experience. The matter is in larger public interest,” a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia told the law officer.

The bench said that Bedi, who also served as the lieutenant governor of Puducherry, was seeking to intervene in the case only to assist the court and her “long experience” could always be utilised.

ASG Sharma submitted that while he held Bedi in “great esteem”, her application seeking intervention demonstrated that she was “pre-judging” the matter in which the authorities were yet to file status reports.

Asking them not to view it adversarially, the court gave the authorities three days to file their replies to Bedi’s plea and listed it for hearing along with the main matter on September 25.

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

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Seven people died in the collapse, while several others were injured.

On September 7, the high court ordered a high-level MCD inquiry into the building collapse and made it clear that the government cannot evade responsibility.

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