“These places have become death chambers….”: Supreme Court Takes Suo Motu Cognizance of Delhi Coaching Centre Deaths, Issues Notices to the Centre and Delhi Govt.

The Supreme Court on Monday, taking suo motu cognizance of the deaths of three UPSC aspirants in a flooded basement at Rau’s IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar, harshly criticized coaching centres in Delhi, describing them as “death chambers.” The Court issued notices to both the Central and Delhi governments, demanding responses regarding the safety regulations governing these institutions.

“We are issuing suo motu notice to NCT of Delhi and Union of India to come out with guidelines of the safety norms that have been taken. These places have become death chambers. You are taking away the lives of young ones coming from different parts of the country and their lives are being taken away,” noted the Supreme Court. Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan remarked that the recent tragedy serves as a wake-up call. The Bench has directed the Central government and the Delhi government to present guidelines on the safety norms in place.

The Court suggested that coaching institutes should be mandated to conduct classes online until they fully comply with safety standards under the Master Plan of Delhi, 2021, and the Unified Building Bye-Laws of Delhi, 2016. “All coaching institutes and centres in Delhi are required to comply with the fire and safety norms under the Master Plan of Delhi, 2021, read with Unified Building Bye-Laws of Delhi, 2016. Coaching institutes can operate online unless there is full compliance with the safety norms and basic norms for the dignified life of young ones studying there,” said the apex court.

In addition, the Supreme Court questioned the effectiveness of the measures taken by the Delhi government and the Union of India. “We are not sure what effective steps have been taken so far by NCT of Delhi or Union of India. The recent unfortunate incidents taking away the lives of some young ones who joined coaching centres for their career pursuits are eye-openers for one and all,” the Court observed.

In addition to addressing safety norms, the Court was hearing an appeal from the Coaching Federation of India challenging Delhi High Court directions on coaching institutes. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal and imposed a ₹1 lakh fine on the Federation. “It is a very inappropriate time when this has come up... This is a state of affairs where a lot of young ones coming from places across the country to Delhi have lost their lives,” the Court stated.

The Delhi High Court had also transferred the investigation into the students’ deaths to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to ensure transparency. The Delhi High Court is already overseeing public interest litigation on the matter and has set up a committee to review the financial and administrative setup of the coaching centres.

Three civil services aspirants lost their lives in the basement of a building in Rajendra Nagar on July 27, which housed a branch of Rau's IAS Study Circle, a well-known coaching institute for civil service exams. The basement library of the institute was flooded after heavy rains, and the three individuals were unable to escape in time. The victims of this incident were identified as Tania Soni (25), Shreya Yadav (25), and Navin Delvin (28).​