Delhi HC seeks responses on plea for hostels in DU colleges

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice on a petition seeking directions to Delhi University (DU) to provide hostel facilities in every college, days after the court expressed concern over the shortage of student accommodation following the deadly Satya Niketan building collapse

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice on a petition seeking directions to Delhi University (DU) to provide hostel facilities in every college, days after the court expressed concern over the shortage of student accommodation following the deadly Satya Niketan building collapse.

In his petition, Jhakhar said that although DU was established in 1922 as a unitary, teaching and residential university, several of its colleges still do not have hostel facilities.

A bench of chief justice DK Upadhyaya and justice Tejas Karia sought responses from the Centre, Delhi government and DU on the petition filed by Vinod Jhakhar, president of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). The court fixed September 25 for the next hearing.

The Centre was represented by solicitor general Tushar Mehta, along with standing counsels Nishant Gautam and Jagdish Chandra Solanki.

In his petition, Jhakhar said that although DU was established in 1922 as a unitary, teaching and residential university, several of its colleges still do not have hostel facilities. Around 132,000 students are enrolled in DU’s regular programmes, but its residential infrastructure has not kept pace with the university’s expansion and growing student population, the petition said.

The shortage has particularly affected students from states and Union territories outside Delhi, who are often compelled to seek accommodation in private paying guest (PG) facilities, hostels, rented rooms and shared flats near their colleges.

The petition said that despite DU being conceived as a residential university and having completed more than a century, adequate institutional housing had not been developed in proportion to its current student strength. This, it said, had effectively shifted a significant part of the responsibility for student accommodation to the private rental and PG market.

“The shortage of hostel accommodation also imposes a substantial financial burden upon students and their families,” the petition said. Private PG establishments around educational institutions frequently charge substantial amounts towards rent, security and other expenses, it added. Despite this expenditure, students have little or no means to independently verify whether the premises meet requirements relating to structural stability, sanctioned construction, fire safety, emergency exits, permissible occupancy and electrical safety, the petition said.

The plea comes days after the same bench directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to conduct an inquiry at the highest executive level into the Satya Niketan building collapse, including whether the structure had been constructed with valid permissions and whether any officials were responsible for lapses. “Had the authorities been alive to the responsibilities and duties cast on them statutorily, such incidents could have been avoided,” the bench said.

The court had also raised concern over the shortage of hostel facilities at DU, saying it was forcing students from outside Delhi to depend on private PGs that could pose risks to their safety.

“PGs are not only very dangerous, but they are causing a threat to the life and security of students. This is because of an inadequate number of hostels available to the students,” the bench said, asking the government to “double down” on efforts to provide hostels.

The court’s observations followed the collapse on Sunday of a five-storey building in Satya Niketan that housed DU students. At least seven people were killed and five injured. Police said renovation work was under way at the PG when the building collapsed around 1.30pm. The structure was estimated to be 40-50 years old.

Police arrested the property owner, Hariram Gupta, 81, a Gurugram resident, and registered an FIR against him 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 at South Campus police station.

Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the collapse.