Satya Niketan PG Owners Failed To Ensure Structural Safety, Collapse Killed 7: Police Tells Delhi High Court

The Delhi Police has told the Delhi High Court that the owners of the Satya Niketan PG building, that collapsed earlier this month resulting in deaths of seven people, failed to ensure structural safety and did not obtain the advice of any qualified structural engineer or architect before carrying out repair and structural modification work.

The submission has been made in a status report filed responding to a PIL moved by a law student Aniket Kumar Gupta, seeking urgent medical care and rehabilitation of affected students, compensation to victims, safe relocation of students from unsafe premises and preservation of crucial evidence relating to the collapse.

The police has said that the building had undergone construction and structural alterations without requisite permissions from the competent authorities.

As per the status report, the investigation revealed that the owners had also failed to obtain land-use conversion permission despite commercially letting out the premises.

According to the police, 12 persons were rescued from the debris. Seven persons, including five students and two labourers, were declared brought dead, while the remaining persons sustained injuries.

The police's preliminary inspection has found that an old or existing building was subjected to additional construction and structural changes in the basement and upper floors without permission.

The status report states that the alterations allegedly increased the load on the existing structure and affected its load-bearing capacity.

The exact structural cause of the collapse, as per the response, is yet to be determined and is subject to detailed investigation and expert inspection.

The police said that approximately 10–12 days before the incident, accused Urmila Gupta, her husband Hari Ram Gupta and their son Mahesh Gupta jointly commenced construction, structural alteration, modification and repair work in the building without obtaining permission or approval from the competent authorities.

The police has said that the investigation revealed that Mahesh Gupta, along with his parents, had engaged an unprofessional and unqualified contractor to carry out the work and the owners did not engage or seek the advice of any qualified structural engineer, architect or other competent expert.

According to the police, the two accused who were PG operators took the premises on rent without obtaining proper verification regarding the structural safety or design of the building.

As per the police, they failed to take adequate safety measures for the PG residents and did not warn or guide them about the potential danger arising from the ongoing construction and structural work.

The police has submitted that the accused persons left the spot instead of taking responsibility and assisting in the immediate aftermath of the incident. Their conduct and individual roles are being examined during the course of investigation, it said.

“The investigating agency is also collecting relevant documentary and scientific evidence, including records relating to ownership, electricity and water connections, construction/repair work, tenancy/rent agreements, permissions/approvals, medical records, post-mortem reports and other material relevant to the investigation. That the investigation is being conducted fairly and in accordance with law. Further action shall be taken on the basis of the evidence collected during investigation and the expert opinion received from the competent authorities,” the response says.

The plea seeks constitution of an independent Judicial or Technical Committee to ascertain the precise cause of the collapse and fix responsibility, besides a comprehensive structural and safety audit of PGs, hostels and other student accommodation facilities in Delhi.

The matter is listed tomorrow for hearing by a division bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia.

The Court recently asked the authorities to double their efforts to save the lives of students affected by the collapse.

It has directed the MCD to take up the issue at its highest executive level and get an enquiry conducted as to whether the buildings which collapsed were constructed under valid permission or not.

The High Court has also said that if it is found that the construction was not done under valid permission, MCD shall fix responsibility of the erring official or employees for the lapse.