On Monday the Supreme Court issued notice to the centre and the Delhi government over the death of three Civil Service aspirants. Notably, they drowned in the flooded basement of a coaching centre, in a building in violation of civic and fire safety rules, in Rajendra Nagar.
During the hearing the court slammed the authorities for failing to regulate coaching centres, calling them ‘death chambers’ and accusing them of ‘playing with the lives of children.
The court also demanded to know what rules, had been laid down for coaching centres, of which there are hundreds, in Delhi alone, many of which charge fees to prepare students for the IAS entrance exam and yet operate in unsafe environments.
‘These places have become death chambers. Coaching institutes can operate online unless there is full compliance of safety and basic norms for a dignified life. Coaching centres are playing with the lives of aspirants’, said Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.
These norms should include proper ventilation and safe entrances and exits, the court said. The Supreme Court also imposed a fine of ₹ 1 lakh on a petition, the Coaching Institute Federation for challenging a Delhi High Court order to shutdown all such business that have not passed civic and fire safety checks; nearly three dozen such centres were closed.
The Delhi High Court ripped into police and city officials last week; ‘Some officer has to be liable and these people must be alive’.
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