New Delhi: Taking a dim view of a plea claiming that people may still be buried under the debris of the building that collapsed in Satya Niketan on Sept 6, Delhi High Court Monday refused to urgently list the matter, which also raised concerns over Municipal Corporation of Delhi ’s decision to demolish an adjoining building after terming it “dangerous”.
HC said that the incident was not only unfortunate but also evoked deep concern about inadequate housing facilities, including hostels run by Delhi University or Delhi govt, safety and security of students and not-so-adequate measures employed by the corporation and other authorities to regulate such PG facilities across the city. “What’s the source of information that there are persons below the debris? How do you know? They must have conducted some type of technical audit before deciding to demolish the adjoining building. It’s all your guesswork that there might be some people. You should have some basis of making such submissions,” a bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia asked the lawyer who pressed for an urgent hearing. Last week, the high court had ordered a high-level MCD inquiry into the incident that left seven people dead, and made it clear that govt cannot evade responsibility.