New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday declined an urgent hearing for a petition challenging the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s decision to demolish a building adjacent to the collapsed hostel in south Delhi’s Satya Niketan. A division bench comprising Chief Justice D. K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia refused to fast-track the matter, criticizing the petitioner’s counsel for making unsubstantiated claims and cautioning against presenting speculative arguments before the court.
The issue arose after an advocate mentioned the matter for immediate consideration, alleging that civic authorities had begun demolishing the neighbouring structure without first clearing the basement rubble of the collapsed hostel, where individuals might still remain trapped. The bench pushed back strongly against the submission, noting that civic bodies routinely conduct technical audits before carrying out such structural interventions. Questioning the evidentiary basis of the claims, the judges instructed the counsel to avoid filing petitions without verifiable technical grounds and confirmed that the plea would be taken up in its normal turn.
The neighbouring structure, which previously functioned as a paying-guest accommodation for female students, had been evacuated and marked for controlled demolition after civic engineers deemed it hazardous. This followed the catastrophic September 6 collapse of an adjacent five-storey boys’ hostel that claimed seven lives during ongoing renovation work. The tragedy has triggered intense judicial scrutiny, with the high court previously ordering a high-level inquiry into regulatory oversights, unlicensed constructions, and student accommodation standards across the capital.
