Satya Niketan PG Collapse: Supreme Court Amicus Seeks Time-Bound Audit Of PGs, Hostels Near Colleges

The Amicus report

In a report filed before the Supreme Court, Senior Advocate Ajit Kumar Sinha, assisting the Court as amicus curiae in the pending matter on illegal construction and unauthorised change of land use, flagged that Satya Niketan had not been covered under the Court's earlier inspection directions, which were confined to Lajpat Nagar, Saket and Malviya Nagar amid concerns over unsafe and unauthorised buildings.

The report notes that the September 6 collapse was not the locality's first: a building collapse in Satya Niketan in April 2022 had killed two persons and injured four others. "The recurrence of such an incident in the same locality raises serious concerns regarding the effectiveness of the existing mechanism for inspection, identification of dangerous structures, and enforcement of building bye-laws," the report states.

Sinha's report also points to construction-related activity reportedly underway in or around the basement of the collapsed structure, along with reports of water logging in the basement in the period immediately preceding the collapse; details that may bear on the eventual determination of what caused the building to come down.

What the Amicus has sought

The report seeks a time-bound inspection and safety audit of PG accommodations, private hostels and similar student-accommodation establishments in and around colleges and universities across Delhi, to be carried out by the court-appointed inspection committee.

The proposed audit would cover verification of sanctioned building plans against actual construction, the number of floors built, basement construction and any subsequent alterations, permitted land use, structural and fire safety, adequacy of ingress and egress, and identification of buildings in a dangerous or ruinous condition.

Plea expected to be mentioned before the Court

A plea seeking urgent expansion of the court-monitored exercise is reportedly expected to be mentioned before a Bench led by Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, with Sinha and AoR Govind Jee expected to cite the latest status report and press for further directions to prevent a recurrence of the Satya Niketan tragedy.

Background

Satya Niketan, located near Delhi University's South Campus, has over the years seen many of its small residential plots converted into PG accommodations and private hostels catering to students. Besides the 2022 collapse, the locality has recorded earlier building failures involving under-renovation structures.

The Satya Niketan tragedy also follows a similar collapse in May this year near Saidulajab in South Delhi, in which six people were killed; an incident in which, according to reports, police had flagged ongoing illegal construction to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on two prior occasions without effective action being taken.

Separately, a PIL has also been filed before the Delhi High Court seeking an independent investigation into the Satya Niketan collapse, along with compensation for victims and a comprehensive structural safety audit of PGs and hostels across several student hubs in Delhi, including Vijay Nagar, Kamla Nagar, Mukherjee Nagar and Karol Bagh.

Notably, on September 7, a Delhi Court had remanded building owner Hariram Gupta and his wife Urmila Gupta to 14 days of judicial custody in connection with the Satya Niketan PG building collapse case, which claimed seven lives. Their son, Mahesh Gupta, was remanded to two days of police custody.

Case Title: Loganathan v. The State of Tamil Nadu and Ors.

Bench: Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Manmohan