Students carry their belongings as they vacate their paying guest accommodations adjacent to the building in Satya Niketan that collapsed on September 6.

| Photo Credit: Rushikesh More

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday declined to take up for urgent hearing urgently a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking hostel facilities for students in all Delhi University colleges, observing that such a direction could not be issued at the interim stage. A Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia questioned the need for urgent listing of the plea and asked the lawyer to file it for auto-listing on Wednesday. The plea was mentioned for urgent listing following the building collapse at Satya Niketan near Delhi University’s South Campus, which claimed seven lives. The plea sought a direction to every Delhi University college to provide hostel facilities to students. The lawyer told the court that the PIL was distinct from another petition heard on Monday, which sought, among other reliefs, compensation for the families of those killed and injured in the collapse. The Bench, however, said it could not issue such a direction at the interim stage. “Can we issue such a direction in the interim? File it. It will be taken up tomorrow,” the Bench said. High-level inquiry ordered The court had on Monday ordered a high-level inquiry by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) into the building collapse and made it clear that the government could not evade responsibility for the tragedy. Calling the incident “most unfortunate”, the High Court said such tragedies reflected inadequate measures by the MCD and other authorities and directed them to intensify rescue efforts to save lives. The court had also flagged concerns over the lack of adequate hostel facilities run by Delhi University and the government, as well as the safety and security of students and the regulatory measures governing paying guest accommodations. Meanwhile, building owner Hariram Gupta and his wife were produced before a trial court on Monday and remanded in judicial custody. Their son was sent to two days’ police custody. Published - September 08, 2026 10:44 pm IST