- SC to hear Satya Niketan building collapse case Sept 10.
- Seven dead, five injured in Delhi building collapse incident.
- Court may transfer Delhi HC PIL, eye pan-India audit.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday indicated to take up the matter involving the collapse of a five-storey building in Delhi's Satya Niketan for Thursday (September 10). The incident had left seven persons, mostly students, dead and 5 others injured.
A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan listed the matter after the Supreme Court-appointed Amicus Curea, senior advocate Ajit Sinha, filed a status report on the incident, demanding early hearing.
Sinha was appointed as Amicus Curiae on March 25 this year to assist the court in proceedings addressing the rampant building violations and illegal land-use conversions. At the outset, Sinha said they have inspected the site along with a professor from IIT and MCD officials and filed a status report in this regard.
With the status report on the September 6 building collapse, the Amicus Curea sought directions from the Court for a time-bound inspection and safety audit of not only university and government accommodations but also private PG accommodations and hostels and similar student accommodation establishments in and around colleges and universities across Delhi.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing on behalf of the Delhi government, emphasised that the Delhi High Court has already taken up a PIL over the incident and passed various directions, including a high-level MCD inquiry.
Justice Amanullah pointed out to this, that the issues in the PIL before the Delhi High Court overlap with the ongoing apex court matter regarding building violations, indicating that the court may transfer the PIL before the HC to itself.
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"This has been taken in right earnest, but it is overlapping. We will take it day after tomorrow and then probably we may make the transfer here. We already have something in mind. It will have to be pan India basis", Justice Amanullah quoted by Live Law as saying.
The 27-hour rescue operation at the Satya Niketan building collapse site ended on Monday with seven people dead and five injured. The building owner, his wife and son have been arrested, while five MCD officials have been suspended.