Months after fire at Delhi neighbourhood, SC denies reprieve to coaching centres

SC refused to interfere with a high court order directing the closure of all coaching centres allowed under mixed land use if they did not comply with norms

New Delhi The Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with a Delhi high court order of July 25 that directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to shut down all coaching centres allowed under mixed land use in the Capital if they did not have fire clearance certificates, and were non-compliant with other norms laid down under the city’s Master Plan-2021.

61 students were injured in a fire at a coaching centre in Mukherjee Nagar in June. (HT Archive)

In a setback for the coaching centres seeking reversal of the closure order, the top court said it would not entertain the plea at this stage since the high court was already seized of the matter, and that the July 25 order was an interim direction.

A bench of justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta asked the petitioner, Coaching Federation of India, which claimed to be a consortium of major coaching institutions from across India, to rather approach the high court to seek an audience.

“The order impugned in the petition is an interim order. We are informed that the high court is currently seized of the matter, and it has also fixed a next date of the hearing on October 10. The federation is at liberty to approach the high court immediately with its grievances,” the court order stated.

Appearing for the federation, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi argued that the high court order was erroneous since the regulations did not require a fire no objection certificate (NOC) for institutions operating from residential premises. He added that coaching centres were not even heard before the impugned order was passed. “At least 50 coaching centres have already been shut, and more will be shut if the order is not interfered with,” Rohatgi said.

Advocate Ardhendumauli K Prasad, appearing for Swekshadaan Foundation — a public charitable trust in Delhi — opposed the federation’s plea, arguing that safety of children was of utmost importance and that the high court was looking into all aspects of the matter.

The Supreme Court, on its part, declined to interfere with an interim order and said that the federation was free to raise all points before the high court where the issue was still live.

On July 25, the high court, taking a stern view of unauthorised coaching centres mushrooming across the city, had said that even though the Master Plan-2021 permits coaching centres to operate, no such institutions will be allowed to run contrary to provisions of the master plan.

The order came while hearing a bunch of public interest litigations by residents of Mukherjee Nagar, Lado Sarai and other areas, who sought the closing down of illegal coaching centres. The court was also hearing a plea it had initiated by itself after a June 15 blaze at a coaching centre in Mukherjee Nagar led to injuries to 61 students.