Coaching centres have become death chambers, says Supreme Court; takes suo motu cognisance of IAS aspirants’ deaths in Delhi

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, August 5

Terming the recent deaths of three civil services aspirants due to drowning in the basement of a coaching centre in the national capital as an “eye-opener for one and all”, the Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of the matter and issued notices to the Centre and the Delhi government.

"These places (coaching centres) have become death chambers. You are taking away the lives of young ones coming from different parts of the country," a Bench led by Justice Surya Kant said, asking the Arvind Kejriwal government and the Union Urban Development Ministry to spell out their stand on proper guidelines and safety norms for coaching institutes.

"All coaching institutes and centres of Delhi are required to comply with the fire and safety norms under the Master Plan of Delhi, 2021, read with Unified Building Bye Laws of Delhi, 2016. Coaching institutes can operate online unless there is full compliance of the safety norms and basic norms for dignified life of young ones studying there. Such norms must include proper ventilation, safety passages, air and light," said the Bench – which also included Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.

Shreya Yadav (25) hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni (25) from Telangana and Nevin Dalvin (24) from Kerala -- the three IAS aspirants drowned to death after rain water entered the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar here on July 27, triggering protests by students/civil services aspirants demanding better safety measures at coaching centres and civic amenities in the area.

The top court was hearing the Coaching Federation of India’s appeal challenging the Delhi High Court’s direction on proliferation of coaching institutes in Mukherjee Nagar area of Delhi for their failure to comply with fire safety norms. Rejecting the appeal, it imposed costs of Rs one lakh on the Federation.

Monday’s development came three days after the Delhi High Court ordered a CBI probe into the death of three civil services aspirants.

"Having regard to the nature of the incident and to ensure that the public has no doubt with regard to the investigation, this court transfers the probe to the CBI," a Bench led by Delhi High Court Acting Chief Justice Manmohan had said on Friday, transferring the probe into the case from the Delhi Police to the CBI.

The high court had asked the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to appoint a senior officer to oversee the CBI probe and pulled up the Delhi Police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) over the drowning incident, saying it was unable to fathom how the students could not come out and sought to know if the doors were blocked or staircases were narrow.

The HC had also ordered removal of encroachments and unauthorised constructions, including on stormwater and sewage drains, in the Rajinder Nagar area where the drowning incident happened.

With the rise in the national capital’s population, it needed a robust system and due to various subsidy schemes, the migration to Delhi was on the rise, the high court noted.

Emphasising the need to have a relook at Delhi's administrative, financial and physical infrastructure, the Bench set up a committee headed by the Chief Secretary to deal with it.

Administratively Delhi has a multiplicity of authorities which only passed the buck and did nothing, the HC had said, adding the physical infrastructure of Delhi was nearly 75-year-old which was inadequate and poorly maintained.

As the MCD commissioner said the stormwater drains in the area were dysfunctional, the high court had asked why didn't his officials inform him about it earlier. The MCD officials were not bothered and it had become a norm, the HC had said, adding, “The public perception is that civic authorities are inefficient.”

The high court had taken pot-shots at the Delhi Police, saying, "Mercifully, you have not challaned rainwater for entering into the basement, the way you arrested the SUV driver for driving his car there."

Manuj Kathuria was accused of driving his SUV through the street that was flooded by rainwater on July 27, causing the water to swell and breach the gates of the three-storey building housing the coaching centre and inundate the basement, where the three students were killed.