'Action against passerby but not MCD officials': Delhi HC pulls up authorities over coaching centre deaths

Three civil services aspirants died last week after a library housed in the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle got inundated following heavy rain.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the investigation officer, DCP and the commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to appear before it on Friday and file an affidavit outlining the action taken into the coaching centre deaths in the national capital.

It was hearing a plea seeking a high-level committee to probe the incident of basement flooding that took place at Rau's IAS Study Circle in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar last Saturday which led to the death of three UPSC aspirants.

Coming down heavily on the authorities, the acting chief justice observed that there is an "underlying malice" on the part of the administration and all the departments are just "busy passing the buck"

"The administration has no money to revamp the city’s infrastructure ... the city’s existing infrastructure is not alive to present realities. There are so many departments here that everyone is busy passing the buck," the high court said.

The chief justice warned the authorities that the court will have to be informed about the course of the investigation into the incident. "If the Investigation Officer is not doing it [the job] properly, then the case should be transferred to the central agencies or Lokpal," the HC said.

The HC also criticised the MCD over the existing infrastructure in the national capital, saying that it is not commensurate with the modern-day needs of the city.

“Delhi’s population is touching 3.3 crore. How will you develop the infrastructure for so many people when you don’t money to pay salaries? The city was planned 100 years ago to accommodate 6-7 lakh people," the high court said.

The ACJ further observed that there is "no master plan" for drainage in Delhi since 1980.

"No MCD officer will know where the drain goes. I don’t know whether these civic agencies exist at the ground level or not."

It added: "You have to ensure that water reaches Yamuna and Yamuna flows! If not, the water will come back! You cannot keep fixing drains only in affected areas. You have to find a solution for the entire problem.”

The court further observed that no action has been taken against any official of the the Delhi civic body even as the police have arrested a passerby.

"Strange probe going on ... police action against passerby who drove car but not against MCD officials," it said.

It was referring to the arrest of an SUV driver who was driving on the road during the incident. The police alleged that his negligent driving caused the gate of the coaching centre to break and exacerbated the flooding of the basement.

Last week, three civil services aspirants died after a library housed in the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle got inundated following heavy rain.

The incident triggered widespread outrage at the negligence on the part of both the civic body and the institute that caused the mishap.