The Supreme Court on Friday insisted on having uniform safety measures for coaching institutes on a pan-India basis and directed a committee examining this issue, in the aftermath of the tragic death of three students at a Delhi coaching centre, to suggest interim measures within a month.
A bench headed by justice Surya Kant said, “The unfortunate incident happened in Delhi, but this can happen elsewhere. We might have thought of expanding this matter on a pan-India basis but now there is a committee formed by the Centre.”
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Attorney General R Venkataramani appearing for Centre produced the notification appointing the committee constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on July 30, within days after the tragic incident at Delhi-based Rau’s IAS Study Circle claimed lives of three students who drowned in the water-logged basement of the building housing the library.
This committee comprised of bureaucrats drawn from the MHA, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Delhi government home department, officers of the Delhi police and Fire department and was tasked to probe the reason behind the Delhi incident, identify persons responsible and measures, including policy changes, to prevent such incidents in future.
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The court further 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 NCR to ensure better coordination between different agencies and governmental authorities.”
In addition, the court directed them to file affidavits explaining the legislative policies/measures taken and the regulatory mechanism in place to prevent occurrence similar to what happened in Delhi.
Venkataramani informed the bench that one meeting of the committee is over and their recommendations will be tabled before the court within two months. The bench, also comprising justice Ujjal Bhuyan, remarked, “Let them expedite the proceedings. They must consider policy interventions and administrative interventions. Any recommendation must be immediate as otherwise action taken will not be seen as prompt.”
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On court’s nudge, the AG assured that the committee will submit interim measures in four weeks. The bench was informed that the Delhi high court had recently formed a Task Force to plug loopholes arising from the Delhi incident. The bench allowed this panel to continue with its work and observed, “We are examining this matter on a larger canvas which is beyond Delhi high court’s jurisdiction.” The court directed the committee to earnestly consider suggestions given by all stakeholders.
The Attorney General pointed out that the committee had so far flagged the issue of lack of vigilance for enforcement of laws. The bench remarked, “We can say implementation is lacking if only there is a mechanism in place. If a building structure is meant for residential purposes, how can non-residential activities be permitted to take place. They are not meant for this kind of activity. That is where lack of enforcement of rules comes in.”
The order of the top court came on a petition filed by the Coaching Federation of India challenging an order of the Delhi high court passed on December 14, 2023 requiring coaching institutes to obtain a mandatory fire no-objection certificate (NOC) and certificate in terms of the Master Plan for Delhi-2021 and Safety Norms for Buildings/Structures under the Unified Building Byelaws, 2016. The top court had last month dismissed the petition with a cost of ₹1 lakh but expanded its scope to address safety concerns posed by these institutes, limiting the examination not just to Delhi alone but NCR states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
The incident at Delhi took place on July 27 resulting in the death of three students – Tanya Soni, Shreya Yadav, and Nevin Delvin – at the Rau’s IAS Study Circle at Old Rajendra Nagar. The bench also allowed the application of the father of one of the victims (Shreya Yadav) to intervene in the matter and posted the case for hearing next month.
During the previous hearing, the top court had observed that coaching institutes cannot become “death chambers” while terming the deaths gruesome and unfortunate. Terming the three deaths as an “eye-opener”, the bench had on August 5 observed, “No coaching institute, not only in Delhi but even within NCR, should be allowed to be approved unless there is meticulous compliance of the safety norms and other fire safety norms necessary for students, besides other basic amenities necessary for dignified human life.”
Describing what these safety norms would entail, the bench said, “Such safety norms must necessarily include proper ventilation, safety passage, air and light, and such other requirement as may be prescribed through statutory measures or guidelines.” The bench noted its anguish that students from different parts of the country come with a lot of expectation thinking they will get all these facilities. It said, “The gruesome, unfortunate incident taking away the lives of some of the young aspirants who joined a coaching centre for their career pursuits are an eye opener for one and all.”
