After 14 deaths at Asha Kiran shelter in Delhi, HC orders a water check

The Delhi HC bench directed the social welfare secretary to conduct an on-site visit and submit a detailed report on the facility's condition

The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to assess the water quality at the Asha Kiran shelter home, which is government-operated and serves individuals with intellectual disabilities. This order came in light of 14 recent deaths attributed to tuberculosis (TB), which the court suggested could not be merely coincidental.

A bench comprising acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedeala also mandated the social welfare secretary to conduct an on-site visit and submit a detailed report on the facility's condition.

The court emphasised the urgency of addressing the issue and implementing necessary corrective actions.

“It is strange that they all died of the same cause. There cannot be an outbreak of TB in a shelter home. There are too many deaths in a short span of time... 14 deaths... It cannot be a coincidence,” the bench told standing counsel Sameer Vashisht, appearing for the Delhi government.

“There have to be curative measures that need to be put in place,” the bench stated.

The court, which also instructed the decongestion of the shelter home, was hearing a plea from NGO Samadhan Abhiyan. This plea called for the formation of a committee, led by a retired high court judge, to conduct a court-monitored investigation into the deaths or alternatively, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.

The petition requested that the Delhi government be directed to perform a social security audit of all its shelter homes to provide an accurate and truthful depiction of their living conditions.

Filed by advocates Abhigyan Siddhant and Anurag Sahay, the plea argued that the inquiry ordered by the Delhi government could not be impartial, given its direct control over both the shelter home and the DJB. The plea contended that the Delhi government was attempting to act as a judge in its own case, which should not be permitted.

Vashisht presented the court with a chart detailing the causes of death at the shelter home, noting that 13 of the 14 residents passed away in hospitals due to comorbidities.

The Delhi government has called for a magisterial investigation into the matter. Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena instructed Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to take action against the facility's administrator and produce a comprehensive report on the management of all similar homes within three weeks.

A report from the social welfare secretary, submitted to Saxena on August 2, indicated that 28 residents have died at the shelter home since January 2024. Minister Atishi has also tasked the additional chief secretary with providing a detailed report.

(With agency inputs)