NEW DELHI: Expressing its grave concern over rampant unauthorized constructions in Delhi-NCR and recent devastating fire incidents in Delhi and Lucknow, the Supreme Court on Thursday heavily criticized and pulled up the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the civic authorities of Uttar Pradesh. The apex court sternly warned that top administrative officials will be held personally liable for non-compliance with its previous executive directions.
The Apex Court was particularly irked by the fact that the MCD has failed to execute any effective action on the ground regarding the court’s May 20 directions, which explicitly ordered the sealing, demolition, or other legally warranted actions against illegal, unauthorized structures across the capital.
Directing the personal presence of senior bureaucrats representing the MCD, the Gurugram municipal body, and the Lucknow civic authorities, a division bench comprising Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice R. Mahadevan remarked that the court was deeply bothered by their continued bureaucratic negligence and repeated non-compliance with judicial directives issued from time to time.
Taking serious exception to this institutional lethargy, the bench pointed out that specific directives had been passed regarding heavily congested commercial blocks like Lajpat Nagar and Sarojini Nagar. It indicated that hazardous, violating structures must be demolished immediately to prevent any catastrophic accidents or loss of human life.
“We are particularly concerned with the conduct of the MCD with regard to non-compliance of directions issued by this court in 2024 and the specific directions of May 20, which clearly outlined what was required to be done by the authorities,” the bench told Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.D. Sanjay, who was appearing on behalf of the MCD. The ASG responded that initial ground enforcement had commenced and assured the bench that a comprehensive compliance report would be submitted before the next scheduled hearing date on August 4.
Unconvinced by these submissions, a highly dissatisfied court observed that no further “slackness” or administrative delay on the part of the civic authorities would be tolerated. The bench formally took on record the detailed status reports filed by Senior Advocate Ajit Sinha, who was appointed as the amicus curiae to assist the court regarding the recent fire tragedies in Delhi and Lucknow, alongside tracking enforcement against illegal properties.
Issuing a stern warning, the top court clarified that it would not hesitate to initiate suo moto contempt of court proceedings against the executive heads of the civic bodies if they failed to demonstrate complete compliance with the judicial orders.
The amicus curiae, assisted by advocate Govind Jee, had approached the top court seeking urgent judicial intervention following the tragic collapse of an unauthorized multi-story building in South Delhi’s Saidulajab area.
According to the municipal records cited in the amicus report, the collapsed structure at Saidulajab had been flagged and booked by municipal authorities on multiple occasions for illegal expansions. The initial building violations were recorded as early as 2012, followed by further bookings in 2015 for adding unauthorized floors. Despite these official records, no effective enforcement or sealing measures were carried out, allowing the builders to add a fourth and fifth floor shortly before the structural failure caused the building to collapse.
The amicus contended that the MCD failed to discharge its statutory obligations by completely failing to seal the premises or halt construction activity despite repeated, documented indications of severe safety violations over nearly a decade.
The amicus report further urged the court to direct the MCD to file a comprehensive affidavit detailing real-time structural surveys and enforcement actions taken against illegal properties, as well as checking the unauthorized commercial use of residential premises across Delhi. Senior Advocate Sinha pointed out that the two recent fire incidents—one on June 3 at Delhi’s Malviya Nagar and another on June 22 in Lucknow—were not standalone accidents but rather tragedies caused by the dangerous convergence of multiple systemic failures.
Sinha noted that on June 3, a massive blaze tore through a narrow, unauthorized multi-story building in the heavily congested Hauz Rani urban village of Malviya Nagar in South Delhi. The building was operating as the ‘Stay Bed & Breakfast’ (B&B) facility, with a commercial restaurant running illegally on the ground floor.
“The final death toll in that tragedy reached 23, a majority of whom were foreign nationals from nations including Nigeria, Mozambique, Somalia, Liberia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. They were staying at the facility to be near the Max and PSRI hospitals while their relatives underwent medical treatments; over 50 people had to be rescued in a massive operation,” he stated.
Sinha further highlighted that on June 22, another major fire broke out in a non-compliant multi-story building situated in Lucknow’s Aliganj area. The disaster resulted in the tragic deaths of 15 individuals, most of whom were young students aged between 16 and 25 years, alongside several trapped pet animals, while leaving numerous others severely injured.
Throughout the intense hearing on Thursday, the Supreme Court bench remained entirely unsatisfied with the defensive arguments presented by the MCD and associated regional authorities, reiterating that strict personal consequences would follow for the top administrative heads if tangible compliance is not demonstrated on the ground.
ലഘു വിവരണം
ഡൽഹി-എൻസിആർ മേഖലയിലെ അനധികൃത നിർമ്മാണങ്ങൾക്കും മാളവ്യ നഗറിലും ലഖ്നൗവിലും ഉണ്ടായ ദാരുണമായ തീപിടുത്തങ്ങൾക്കും എതിരെ സുപ്രീം കോടതി നഗരസഭകൾക്ക് കടുത്ത താക്കീത് നൽകി. കോടതി ഉത്തരവുകൾ പാലിക്കുന്നതിൽ വീഴ്ച വരുത്തിയാൽ ഉന്നത ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥർ വ്യക്തിപരമായി പ്രത്യാഘാതങ്ങൾ നേരിടേണ്ടിവരുമെന്ന് ജസ്റ്റിസ് അഹ്സാനുദ്ദീൻ അമാനുള്ള തലവനായ ബെഞ്ച് വ്യക്തമാക്കി. ഡൽഹിയിലെ മാളവ്യ നഗറിലെ ബി ആൻഡ് ബി ലോഡ്ജിലുണ്ടായ തീപിടുത്തത്തിൽ 23 പേരും, ലഖ്നൗവിലെ അലിഗഞ്ചിൽ 15 വിദ്യാർത്ഥികളും മരിക്കാനിടയായത് അധികൃതരുടെ അനാസ്ഥ മൂലമാണെന്ന് കോടതി നിയോഗിച്ച അമിക്കസ് ക്യൂറി റിപ്പോർട്ട് നൽകിയിരുന്നു. കേസിൽ ഓഗസ്റ്റ് 4-നകം വ്യക്തമായ റിപ്പോർട്ട് സമർപ്പിക്കാൻ കോടതി ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ടിട്ടുണ്ട്.
(With inputs from TNIE)
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