'Owners failed to take safety precautions': Delhi Police to HC on Satya Niketan building collapse

Delhi Police has told the Delhi High Court that six people arrested in connection with the Satya Niketan building collapse, including its owners and operators of the paying-guest accommodation, prima facie failed to take adequate safety precautions during construction and repair work, creating conditions that endangered lives and ultimately resulted in seven deaths. In an eight-page status report filed on September 21, police said preliminary inspection indicated that excessive structural load or weakening of the existing structure led to the September 6 collapse, which killed five students and two others and left several people injured.

The report was filed in a pending PIL by law student Aniket Kumar Gupta, who has sought urgent medical care and rehabilitation for affected students, Rs 1 crore compensation for the families of those killed and preservation of crucial evidence relating to the collapse. The matter is scheduled to come up Friday before a Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia.

‘Failed to take precautions’

“Prima facie the six arrested accused persons failed to take adequate safety precautions during the construction/repair/modification/alteration work carried out in and around the building, which resulted in a situation endangering human life and ultimately caused deaths and serious injuries to PG students and other persons,” the police said. Investigators also told the court that the accused allegedly left the spot after the collapse instead of taking responsibility or assisting in the immediate aftermath, adding that their individual conduct and roles remained under investigation.

According to the status report, a preliminary inspection found that the old building had been subjected to additional construction in the basement and upper storeys without permission from the competent government authorities. Police said the construction and structural alterations allegedly increased the load on the existing structure and affected its load-bearing capacity, creating a potentially dangerous situation for those living inside.

The building housed a boys’ PG accommodation near Delhi University’s South Campus and was undergoing repair work when it collapsed. The tragedy subsequently brought the safety of privately operated student accommodation in the area under intense scrutiny, with questions being raised over unauthorised construction, structural certification and enforcement by civic authorities.

Owners lacked structural advice

Police identified Urmila Gupta as the owner of the property and said it was jointly managed by her husband Hari Ram Gupta and their son Mahesh Gupta, all three of whom are accused in the case. Investigators alleged that the owners had not obtained permission for land-use conversion and were commercially letting out the premises without securing the requisite approvals from competent authorities.

“The owners had also not engaged, hired or obtained advice from any qualified structural engineer/architect in respect of the basement repair and the construction/structural modification work carried out at the ground-floor shops and other portions of the building,” the status report said. Police have alleged that the failure to obtain professional structural advice was particularly significant given that work was being carried out on an old building occupied by students.

Contractor Sanoj, who had been engaged for the construction or repair work, is also among those arrested. According to police, he engaged two unqualified labourers for the repair work, while neither he nor the owners sought the opinion of a qualified architect or structural expert before undertaking the exercise.

PG operators also under probe

Police have also arrested Shubham Tyagi and Sudhanshu Lovenish Kumar, who were operating the boys’ PG accommodation under the name “Hostel Daze”. The status report alleged that the two had taken the premises on rent without adequately verifying its structural safety and design and failed to put sufficient safeguards in place for students staying there.

Investigators further alleged that the PG operators did not take appropriate steps to warn or guide residents about possible risks arising from the construction and structural work underway in the building. Their precise roles, along with those of the owners and contractor, are being examined as part of the criminal investigation, police told the court.

HC had ordered MCD inquiry

A day after the collapse, the Delhi High Court ordered a high-level Municipal Corporation of Delhi inquiry and made it clear that the government could not evade responsibility for the tragedy. The court had said the incident raised serious concerns about inadequate student housing, including the availability of hostels run by Delhi University and the government, as well as the measures employed by the MCD and other authorities to regulate private PG facilities.

Retired IPS officer Kiran Bedi has separately sought to intervene in the proceedings, saying she wanted to place before the court “critical public domain disclosures” concerning the operation of PG hostels and what she described as a “nexus” surrounding them. The authorities opposed her application, arguing that she was pre-judging the issues involved, and sought time to file their objections.

The police findings will now form part of the material before the High Court as it examines both the circumstances behind the collapse and the wider regulatory failures surrounding student accommodation in the Capital. The investigation is continuing, and the allegations against the six arrested accused remain subject to judicial determination.