A representative of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) arrived to dismantle an unsafe adjacent structure following the tragedy of a multi-storey building collapse at Satya Niketan on September 9, 2026 | Photo Credit: PTI
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (September 9, 2026) issued a public interest litigation (PIL) notice to the Centre, the Government of Delhi and the Delhi University (DU) seeking to frame a comprehensive policy for establishing safe, accessible and adequate hostels for Delhi University students across the capital.
The suit was filed following the September 6 collapse of multi-storey buildings used as student hostels at Satya Niketan, which killed six people and injured several others.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia issued the notice, posting it for hearing on September 25, when another PIL on a similar issue is also listed for hearing.
The petition, filed by Mr. Vinod Jakhar through advocate Vimal Tyagi, also sought immediate safety measures for students currently staying in private paying guest (PG) hostels and private hostels, including structural and fire safety checks of such premises.
The petition pointed out the acute shortage of institutional facilities at the university, which, the petition said, had increased substantially since DU was founded in 1922 as a “unitary, teaching and residential university.”
According to the petitioner, DU has about 1.32 million students enrolled in regular programs while hostel capacity remains woefully inadequate.
The petitioner claims that the shortage of students is forcing thousands of students, especially those coming from outside Delhi, to depend on private PGs, hostels, rented rooms and shared apartments around their colleges.
Students, the petition says, often have no practical ability to independently verify the compliance of such premises with structural, fire and other legal requirements.
“The problem is not limited to North Campus, South Campus or any particular college or locality. Delhi University’s colleges are spread across NCT Delhi and hence the lack of safe and accessible institutional accommodation is a university-wide issue requiring a university-wide policy response,” the statement said.
The petition added: “The lack of accessible accommodation disproportionately affects students from remote areas and students from economically weaker backgrounds and may, in practice, significantly increase the cost of access to public higher education.”
Hearing a separate petition on Monday, the court directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to conduct a high-level inquiry into the building collapse and made it clear that the government cannot shirk responsibility for the tragedy.
Terming the incident “most unfortunate”, the court said such tragedies reflect inadequate measures by the MCD and other authorities and directed them to intensify rescue efforts to save lives.
Published – September 9, 2026 2:07 pm EST.