Dellhi HC tells govt to formulate fire safety plan for commercial establishments

The Delhi High Court urged the government to create a safety action plan for hotels, clubs, and restaurants to prevent fire incidents and accidents.

New Delhi

A bench of chief justice DK Upadhyay and justice Tejas Karia issued the directions while hearing a petition by advocate Arpit Bhargava. (Representative photo/HT Archive)

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Delhi government to expeditiously formulate an action plan, outlining safety measures to prevent fires and other accidents in hotels, clubs and restaurants across the Capital.

A bench of chief justice DK Upadhyay and justice Tejas Karia issued the directions while hearing a petition by advocate Arpit Bhargava, who sought orders to the Delhi government to conduct fire and safety audits of all hotels, clubs and restaurants in the Capital, and to frame and implement a compensation scheme for families of those killed or injured in fires.

The petition was filed in the aftermath of a massive fire that broke out at Birch by Romeo Lane in Goa last December that killed at least 25 people, including 20 staff members. Authorities said the blaze was most likely triggered by electrically operated pyrotechnic guns used during a belly dance performance.

In his petition, Bhargava alleged that many establishments in the Capital operate in violation of safety norms, pointing out that only 52 hotels and 38 clubs of nearly 1,000 such licensed establishments possessed a fire safety certificate from the Delhi Fire Services.

Despite this, the petition alleged that there was blatant laxity on the government’s part in regularly conducting safety audits of establishments, and that no compensation scheme existed for families of those killed or injured in fire incidents.

Noting that Bhargava had not submitted a prior representation to the authorities before approaching the court, it disposed of the petition with a direction to the government to treat it as a representation and decide the issues raised at the earliest.

“There is nothing on record to show that before approaching this court, the Petitioner has approached the authorities. We dispose of the writ that the writ shall be treated as a representation by the petitioner, shall be attended thereto, and an appropriate decision shall be taken by the respondent expeditiously as per rules and laws, shall address the issues and devise an action plan to put in place safety measures so that fire incidents and other accidents might be avoided. The decision shall be taken expeditiously,” the court said in its order.