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The Supreme Court connected Monday (June 8, 2026) declined to accord an urgent proceeding connected a presumption study filed by a court-appointed amicus curiae seeking directions to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) successful transportation with the illness of an unauthorised five-storey gathering successful Delhi’s Saidulajab country that claimed six lives and injured astatine slightest 14 others connected May 30.
A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Atul S. Chandurkar declined to assistance an urgent proceeding connected the report. “Mentioning rejected. No orders required to beryllium passed,” the Bench said.
In his presumption report, elder advocator Ajit Kumar Sinha sought the Supreme Court’s involution to nonstop the MCD to record an affidavit detailing however the amerciable operation was allowed to proceed and the enactment taken against officials liable for the lapse. It besides sought directions for a “structural audit” of unauthorised constructions crossed the nationalist superior and for amerciable structures to beryllium sealed and demolished expeditiously.
The study was filed successful proceedings arising retired of a March 25 bid passed by a Bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan. While proceeding a substance concerning amerciable constructions successful Tamil Nadu, the Bench had expressed superior interest implicit “widespread and blatant violations of gathering bye-laws and land-use regulations” and ordered a pan-India enquiry into the rampant conversion of residential premises for commercialized use.
The Bench had appointed Mr. Sinha arsenic amicus curiae to assistance the court. In his report, helium pointed retired that the Bench had granted him liberty to question the court’s involution and due directions arsenic and erstwhile required.
‘Blind eye’
Mr. Sinha alleged that the MCD had failed to discharge its statutory obligations contempt repeated announcement of the violations. He submitted that the civic assemblage had failed to seal the premises oregon instrumentality immoderate action, adjacent arsenic further floors were constructed illegally astatine the Saidulajab property.
The study filed done advocator Govind Jee stated that specified unauthorised operation could not person continued for astir a decennary unless officials liable for enforcing the instrumentality had “turned a unsighted eye” to the violations. It pointed retired that MCD records themselves reflected a agelong past of unauthorised operation astatine the property.
According to the amicus, though the gathering was initially sanctioned lone for a basement, crushed level and archetypal floor, the amerciable operation of the 2nd and 3rd floors was carried retired successful 2015. This was followed by the operation of the unauthorised 4th and 5th floors, resulting successful the illness of the full building
“The gross usurpation and amerciable operation which went connected since 2015 yet led to the horrific and unfortunate incidental wherever guiltless students and residents of the locality mislaid their lives, whereas the beneficiary of the said amerciable structures, arsenic good arsenic officers who failed to discharge their statutory obligations, are inactive enjoying the benefits derived from the unauthorised operation and by letting the illegality proceed successful perpetuity,” the study stated.
‘A specified eyewash’
Mr. Sinha contended that the suspension of 2 MCD engineers pursuing the mishap was a “mere eyewash” and a “post-facto and cosmetic exercise” by the civic body.
Accordingly, the amicus urged the apex tribunal to nonstop the MCD to record an affidavit detailing the enactment taken against amerciable and unauthorised constructions successful the nationalist capital, arsenic good arsenic the unauthorised commercialized usage of residential premises. He besides sought directions for a “structural audit” of specified properties and for amerciable structures to beryllium sealed and demolished expeditiously.
Taking enactment of the fatalities caused by the mishap, the amicus besides sought directions to the Delhi authorities to furnish an affidavit detailing the compensation projected for the families of the deceased.
‘Fraud connected the system’
In its March 25 order, the apical tribunal had directed municipal authorities to behaviour surveys of amerciable constructions and cautioned that the workout should not go a “mere ritualistic” formality. It had besides directed each statutory appellate authorities and quasi-judicial forums dealing with violations of gathering norms and unauthorised constructions to dispose of pending matters, arsenic acold arsenic possible, wrong 3 months.
Notably, the tribunal had besides expressed beardown reservations astir the MCD’s basal connected the contented of unauthorised alteration of onshore use. Recording its dissatisfaction with the civic body’s submission that Delhi’s Master Plan 2021 permitted aggregate uses, the Bench headed by Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah had observed that portion the maestro program whitethorn let antithetic categories of use, a idiosyncratic who obtains authorisation for a gathering for a peculiar intent cannot subsequently change its use. Such a change, the tribunal said, would magnitude to “nothing abbreviated of a fraud connected the system”.
“This facet appears to person been wholly glossed implicit by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and whitethorn adjacent bespeak tacit collusion and connivance with the violators for extraneous considerations, which are neither hard to comprehend nor unknown,” the Bench had recorded successful its order.
