Accused failed to ensure building safety, police tells Delhi HC in Satya Niketan collapse

New DelhiThe Delhi Police has told the Delhi High Court that the six persons arrested in connection with the Satya Niketan building collapse failed to take adequate safety measures during construction and repair work carried on and around the premises, which created a situation that endangered the students’ lives, eventually resulting in the collapse, loss of lives and critical injuries

New Delhi

The site of the building collapse, earlier in September 2026. (HT Photo)

The Delhi Police has told the Delhi High Court that the six persons arrested in connection with the Satya Niketan building collapse failed to take adequate safety measures during construction and repair work carried on and around the premises, which created a situation that endangered the students’ lives, eventually resulting in the collapse, loss of lives and critical injuries.

In its status report filed on September 21, the police further stated that the accused left the site after the incident instead of taking responsibility and assisting in the immediate aftermath. Those arrested include building owner Urmila Gupta, her husband Hari Ram Gupta and her son Mahesh Gupta, paying guest (PG) operators Shubham Tyagi and Sudhanshu Lovenish Kumar, and contractor Sanoj.

The eight-page status report, which will be considered by a bench of chief justice DK Upadhyaya and justice Tejas Karia on Friday, stated that the owners did not obtain land-use conversion permission and did not seek expert advice on structural repairs.

The report read, “It has further been found during investigation, that no land-use conversion permission had been obtained by the said persons. The premises were being commercially let out without obtaining the requisite permissions from the 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. There is no complaint received about this property as per available records maintained at PS South Campus prior to this incident.”

Investigators arrested the owner of the property, Hariram Gupta, 81, a Gurugram resident. Police registered an FIR against Gupta and unidentified others under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 290 (negligent conduct in pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings) and 125 (act endangering the life or personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at South Campus police station. Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta ordered a magisterial inquiry into the collapse.

The police report said the accused failed to ensure safeguards either.

“That, 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. It is further revealed that after the incident, the accused persons left the spot instead of taking responsibility and assisting in the immediate aftermath of the incident,” the report read.

The report was filed in a petition by one Aniket Kumar Gupta, who sought directions for a fair and comprehensive investigation into the collapse, including an examination of the roles of the owner, contractor, builder, architect, structural engineer and workers.

On September 7, the high court asked Delhi Police, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi University to respond to the petition. It had asked the MCD to conduct an inquiry at the highest executive level into the collapse of the building at Satya Niketan, calling the incident unfortunate and saying that the same could have been avoided had the authorities been alive to the statutory duty cast upon them.

In the report, the Delhi Police stated that the contractor, Sanoj, engaged two unqualified labourers for carrying out the repair.

“That during investigation it was further revealed that accused Sanoj had engaged two unqualified laborers for carrying out the repair/structural modification work. Accused Sanoj, being an unprofessional and unqualified rajmistri, failed to take adequate safety precautions during the repair/modification work carried out in the old building. It is further revealed that neither accused Sanoj nor the building owners obtained the opinion of any qualified architect/structural expert before undertaking the said work,” the report stated.

The report stated that PG operators Shubham Tyagi and Sudhanshu Lovenish Kumar had taken the premises on rent without adequately verifying the building’s structural safety and design.

“Investigation has further revealed that the said accused persons took the premises on rent, without obtaining proper verification regarding the structural safety/design of the building. They failed to take appropriate precautions, despite construction/alteration/structural work being carried out in the building. It is further revealed that the accused persons failed to take adequate safety measures for the PG residents and did not take appropriate precautions to warn or guide them regarding the potential danger arising from the ongoing construction/structural work,” the report stated.