New Delhi

A fresh Public Interest Litigation has been filed before the Delhi High Court seeking a dedicated mechanism to monitor the safety and welfare of students living in paying guest (PG) accommodations, rented flats and private hostels in Delhi, with the September 6 Satya Niketan building collapse, which claimed seven lives including five students, cited as the immediate trigger for the plea.

The petition has been filed by Shivansh Kalia, a second-year student of PGDAV College, University of Delhi, who has sought constitution of Student Accommodation Advisory and Monitoring Committees at college, university and major student/coaching-hub levels. The plea has been filed through advocate Ashu Bidhuri.

The PIL comes against the backdrop of the Satya Niketan tragedy, where a building being used as a private boys’ hostel/PG accommodation collapsed on September 6.

The petition states that seven persons, including five students, died in the incident and several others were rescued from the debris. It further refers to reports raising questions over construction and renovation work carried out shortly before the collapse and the sanctioned structure of the building.

The Delhi High Court had, while dealing with proceedings arising from the Satya Niketan collapse, observed on September 7 that responsibility for such mishaps, prima facie, does not lie solely with the PG owner and also extends to university authorities and the MCD, which is responsible for ensuring compliance with building bye-laws and regulations.

The latest PIL seeks to build on that concern by creating a coordinated institutional mechanism for students who are dependent on private accommodation because of the limited availability of institutional hostels.

 The plea says existing responsibilities are distributed among the MCD, Delhi Fire Services, Police, district administration and educational institutions, but students do not have a single dedicated mechanism to report accommodation-related safety concerns and seek coordinated intervention.

The petitioner has proposed that the committees have a 24x7 student helpline, dedicated email address and online grievance portal through which students could report structural and fire hazards, overcrowding, electrical and sanitation problems, exploitation, harassment and other accommodation-related grievances.

The proposed committees would also facilitate periodic safety verification of student accommodations, coordinate structural, electrical and fire-safety assessments with competent authorities, identify unsafe or unauthorised premises and refer them to the relevant statutory authorities for action.

The plea further proposes a voluntary and safeguarded database of students living in private accommodations, subject to consent and data-protection safeguards, to help authorities respond to emergencies and understand concentrations of student populations.

At the college level, the proposed committee would include representatives of the college, students, police, district administration, MCD and civil society. At the university level, the petitioner has proposed participation of senior university officials, MCD, Delhi government, police and student representatives. Similar committees have been proposed for major coaching and student hubs.

The PIL also seeks greater availability of safe and affordable institutional accommodation, with the committees empowered to make recommendations for strengthening government and university hostel capacity.

In an interim application, the petitioner has sought immediate measures pending adjudication of the PIL, including creation of a nodal mechanism for receiving student complaints, coordination among existing authorities and a coordinated identification and safety assessment of private accommodations substantially housing students, particularly in major educational and coaching hubs.

The petition has made the Government of NCT of Delhi, MCD, Delhi Police, GGSIP University, Delhi University, PGDAV College, UGC, Union Ministry of Education, JNU and Dr BR Ambedkar University Delhi respondents.

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The plea ultimately seeks directions for constitution of the proposed committees and formulation and implementation of a comprehensive regulatory framework for PGs, rented accommodations and private hostels housing students, covering safety, security, habitability, hygiene, structural and fire safety, grievance redressal and protection against exploitation.