The Supreme Court of India is set to hear a case on Monday concerning the tragic deaths of three civil service aspirants at Rau’s IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar, Delhi. The incident occurred on July 27, when heavy rain led to flooding in the basement library of the coaching centre, drowning the students.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan will preside over the matter. This follows a previous directive from the apex court on September 20, which ordered a Union government-appointed committee to submit an interim report on preventive measures to avoid similar tragedies. The court had also asked the governments of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi to provide updates on legislative and administrative changes implemented to prevent such incidents.
Attorney General R Venkataramani informed the court that the Centre had formed a high-level committee to investigate the incident and consider interventions at policy and legislative levels. The Supreme Court emphasized that this issue extends beyond Delhi, calling for nationwide measures to prevent further such incidents.
The court had earlier criticized the operation of coaching centres, referring to them as “death chambers” and highlighting the dangers posed to students. This comment was made while hearing a petition challenging a Delhi High Court order from December 2023, which had directed inspections of all coaching centres in the capital to ensure compliance with fire safety norms.
The high court had transferred the investigation of the students’ deaths from the Delhi Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to ensure transparency. The victims, Shreya Yadav (25) from Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni (25) from Telangana, and Nevin Delvin (24) from Kerala, were all preparing for the UPSC exam.
The Supreme Court aims to cover the “wider canvas” of this issue, addressing it at a pan-India level to ensure the safety of students across the country.
(With inputs from PTI)