Delhi UPSC aspirants’ death: Supreme Court expresses concern, says ‘coaching centres playing with lives’

Delhi coaching centre deaths: Supreme Court on Monday, August 5, took suo motu cognisance of the deaths of the three IAS aspirants who drowned after rainwater gushed inside the basement of a coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar, Delhi and sought responses from the Centre and the Delhi government. 

The Supreme Court said the recent incident in the national capital was an eye-opener for all. It issued a notice to the Centre and the Delhi government seeking their responses on safety norms.

The SC directed the Centre and Delhi governments to list the prescribed safety norms in coaching institutes. It also sought the Centre and state government's response on the effective mechanisms introduced to ensure its compliance.

The Supreme Court was hearing another similar plea by the Coaching Federation of India against the Delhi High Court order directing the state government and the Municipality of Delhi (MCD) to close down coaching centres operating in the state without a valid No-objection certificate (NOC) from the Fire Department after the incident. 

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While hearing the petition, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said, “Safety norms require proper ventilation, safety passage, air and light, fire safety norms and such other requirements prescribed under law.” 

“These places (coaching centres) have become death chambers. Coaching institutes can operate online unless there is full compliance of the safety norms and basic norms for a dignified life,” PTI quoted the Supreme Court bench's statement. 

The bench added, “Coaching centres are playing with the lives of aspirants who come from different parts of the country.".

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“To ensure the public has no doubt over the investigation, ” the Delhi High Court on Friday transferred the probe on the deaths of the three civil services students at Rau's IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar, Delhi, from the city police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Authorities identified the victims in the Delhi coaching centre tragedy that took place on July 27 as 25-year-old Shreya Yadav from Uttar Pradesh, 25-year-old Tanya Soni from Telangana and 24-year-old Nevin Delvin from Kerala.

(With PTI inputs)