Suggest safety measures to prevent deaths at training centres within a month: SC | Latest India News

The development came in the wake of the tragic deaths of three students at a tutoring centre in Delhi on July 27.

A bench headed by Justice Surya Kant said, “The unfortunate incident took place in Delhi, but it can happen anywhere else too. We might have thought of extending this matter to the whole of India, but now there is a committee constituted by the central government.”

Solicitor General R. Venkataramani, appearing for the central government, on July 30 filed the notification setting up the committee constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), just days after the tragic incident at Rau Company's IAS Study Circle in Delhi in which three students drowned in the flooded basement of the building housing the library.

This committee comprised bureaucrats from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Home Department of the Government of Delhi, and officials from the Delhi Police and Fire Service, and was tasked with determining the cause of the Delhi incident, identifying those responsible, and taking action, including policy changes, to prevent such incidents in the future.

The court also allowed the governments of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to assist the MHA committee with their suggestions “so that uniform initiatives can be taken within the NCR to ensure better coordination among different agencies and government departments.”

The court also asked them to file affidavits explaining the legislative measures taken and the regulatory mechanism in place to prevent incidents like the one in Delhi.

Venkataramani informed the court that a meeting of the committee had been concluded and its recommendations would be submitted to the court within two months.

The bench, also comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, observed, “Let them expedite the proceedings. They must consider political and administrative interventions. Any recommendation must be made immediately, otherwise the action taken will not be considered prompt.”

At the court's urging, the Attorney General assured that the committee would submit interim measures within four weeks.

The court was informed that the Delhi High Court had recently formed a working group to plug the loopholes created by the Delhi incident. Allowing the group to continue its work, the court noted, “We are examining this case in a larger context which is beyond the jurisdiction of the Delhi High Court.”

The court instructed the committee to carefully examine the proposals of all parties involved.

The Attorney General pointed out that the Committee had so far pointed to a lack of vigilance in enforcing the laws.

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The court observed, “We can say that the implementation is poor when only one mechanism is in place. If a building structure is meant for residential purposes, how can non-residential purposes be allowed? They are not meant for this kind of activity. This is where there is a lack of enforcement of the rules.”

The top court order came on a petition filed by the Coaching Federation of India challenging a Delhi High Court order dated December 14, 2023, requiring training institutes to obtain a mandatory Fire Safety No-Objection Certificate (NOC) and a certificate as per the Delhi Master Plan 2021 and safety norms for buildings/structures under the Unified Building Byelaws 2016.

The Supreme Court dismissed the case last month with costs of ₹1 lakh, but expanded its scope to address the security concerns raised by these institutes by restricting the exam not only to Delhi alone but also to the NCR states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

The Delhi incident took place on July 27 and resulted in the death of three students at the IAS training centre in Old Rajendra Nagar. The court also allowed the father of one of the victims' plea to intervene in the matter and scheduled the case for hearing next month.