The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the District Welfare Officers of the Social Justice Department to inspect hostels in southern and central districts within its jurisdiction and file a report.A Division Bench of Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel directed the officers to inspect the hostels to ascertain building stability, the availability of basic amenities such as drinking water, electricity, cleanliness, compound wall and submit a report to the respective District Collectors in three weeks, and the Collectors should file a report to the court in two weeks thereafter.The court was hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by K. Muruganandam of Pudukkottai district. The petitioner complained that several hostels were in dilapidated conditions posing a serious threat to students.He said there were vacancies in various posts. Some hostels had been closed while others were operating out of rented buildings. It was the duty of the State to take necessary steps to create awareness and ensure the hostels were reopened for the benefit of students.He sought a direction to the authorities to demolish and reconstruct hostels that were in dilapidated condition, reopen closed hostels, fill vacancies, appoint permanent full-time wardens in hostels and construct permanent buildings for hostels currently operating on rented premises. The court adjourned the hearing to November 10. Published - August 25, 2026 10:16 pm IST