Coaching institutes can’t be ‘death chambers’: Supreme Court

Dismissing the petition as ‘frivolous’ with a cost of ₹1 lakh, SC expanded its scrutiny to pan-India level to ascertain safety norms for coaching institutes

The Supreme Court on Monday said that coaching institutes cannot be “death chambers”, playing with the lives of students who enrol from across the country in pursuit of their career goals, as it set out to examine the mechanism to enforce safety norms on these institutions across the country in the aftermath of a recent tragedy where three young civil service aspirants drowned to death at a coaching institute in Delhi.

The court took up the issue suo motu (on its own) in a petition concerning implementation of fire safety norms for coaching institutions in Delhi. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Taking up the issue suo motu (on its own) in a petition concerning implementation of fire safety norms for coaching institutions in Delhi, a bench led by justice Surya Kant said, “We should do something about this issue. What is it that we are reading that these places have become death chambers. You are playing with the lives of students.”

The court was hearing a petition filed by Coaching Federation of India against a December 14, 2023 order passed by the Delhi high court requiring coaching institutes to obtain mandatory fire no-objection certificates (NOC) and certificate in terms of the Master Plan for Delhi-2021 and Safety Norms for Buildings/Structures under the Unified Building Byelaws of 2016.

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Dismissing the petition as “frivolous” with a cost of ₹1 lakh, the court expanded its scrutiny to pan-India level to ascertain the safety norms prescribed for coaching institutions, and the statutory mechanism available with the Centre and Delhi government to enforce it.

“The gruesome, unfortunate incident taking away the lives of some of the young aspirants who joined a coaching centre for their career pursuits are an eye opener for one and all,” said the bench, also comprising justice Ujjal Bhuyan, referring to the July 27 incident at Rau’s IAS Study Circle at Delhi’s Old Rajendra Nagar where three students – Tanya Soni, Shreya Yadav and Nevin Delvin – drowned in the waterlogged basement of the building housing a library.

Issuing notice to the Union ministry of housing and urban development and the Delhi government through the chief secretary, the bench said, “We deem it appropriate to suo motu expand the scope of these proceedings and issue notice to Union of India and Delhi government to show-cause as to what safety norms are being prescribed so far and if so, what is the effective mechanism introduced to ensure their compliance.”

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The court held, “No coaching institute, not only in Delhi but even within NCR, should be allowed to be approved unless there is meticulous compliance of the safety norms and other fire safety norms necessary for students, besides other basic amenities necessary for dignified human life… All people coming from different parts of the country come with a lot of expectation thinking they will get all facilities.”

Describing what these safety norms would entail, the bench said, “Such safety norms must necessarily include proper ventilation, safety passage, air and light, and such other requirement as may be prescribed through statutory measures or guidelines.”

It said that where the institutions fail to conform to the safety norms, they must shift to online mode without endangering the lives of students.

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“For the time being, coaching should go on online unless there is compliance with building, fire norms,” the bench said, as it pulled up the petitioner federation for carrying an appeal to the top court to interfere in a simple case requiring them to comply with fire safety norms.

The matter was argued by advocates NP Singh and Kedar Nath Tripathy, who pointed out that this petition had nothing to do with the recent incident involving illegal use of basement, as the coaching federation wanted to apply for fire safety certificate but faced ambiguity with the MPD-2021 not specifying whether these institutions fall under educational institutions, mixed land use or residential buildings

The bench shot back: “It is a very inappropriate time for filing such a petition. Is this the moment to file this petition?” Singh informed the court that the petition was meant to be listed during the summer vacation but could not be heard at the time.

The Delhi high court order had sought fire safety norms to be enforced by coaching institutes following a fire incident last year that left 61 students injured in Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar. The top court held office-bearers of the coaching federation responsible for the cost, and threatened to initiate contempt action in three weeks if the amount of ₹50,000 each was not deposited with the Supreme Court Advocate on Record Association (SCOARA) and SC Advocates Welfare Fund.