Delhi High Court Seeks Response on Plea for DU Hostel Policy and PG Safety Audits
Delhi HC issued notice to Centre, Delhi govt, and DU on a PIL seeking a comprehensive hostel policy and safety audits of PG accommodations.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Centre, the Delhi government, and Delhi University (DU) on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) demanding a comprehensive policy to ensure safe, affordable, and adequate hostel facilities for DU students across the capital.
The plea comes in the wake of the September 6 collapse of multi-storey buildings used as paying guest (PG) accommodation in Satya Niketan, which killed six people and injured several others.
A bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia listed the matter for hearing on September 25, alongside another PIL on a similar issue.
The petitioner, Vinod Jakhar, through advocate Vimal Tyagi, also sought immediate safety measures for students currently living in private PGs and hostels, including structural and fire-safety audits of such premises.
The petition highlights the acute shortage of institutional accommodation at DU, which has grown substantially since the university was established in 1922 as a 'unitary, teaching and residential University'. DU has around 1.32 lakh students enrolled in regular programmes, but hostel capacity remains grossly inadequate.
This shortage forces thousands of students, especially those from outside Delhi, to rely on privately operated PGs, hostels, rented rooms, and shared flats near their colleges. Students often have no practical way to verify whether such premises comply with structural, fire-safety, and other statutory requirements.
The plea argues that the issue is not confined to North Campus, South Campus, or any particular college or locality, as DU colleges are spread across the National Capital Territory. It calls for a university-wide policy response.
The petition also notes that the lack of affordable institutional accommodation disproportionately affects outstation students and those from economically weaker families, potentially increasing the cost of accessing public higher education.
Separately, the court had on Monday ordered a high-level inquiry by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) into the building collapse, stating that the government could not evade responsibility for the tragedy.