 "'Death chambers': SC slams coaching centres over Delhi Rau's IAS deaths")
In a scathing rebuke on Monday, the Supreme Court referred to coaching centres as “death chambers” following the incident at Rau’s IAS Study Circle in Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar. The court, taking suo motu cognisance of the incident, addressed the death of three Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) aspirants and sought urgent responses from the central government and the Delhi government.
“These places [coaching centres] have become death chambers… coaching institutes can operate online unless there is full compliance of the safety norms and basic norms for a dignified life… You’re playing with the lives of young ones coming from different parts of the country,” the Supreme Court observed.
The bench, consisting of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, described the incident as an “eye-opener” for all. “The incident was an eye opener, no institute should be allowed to operate unless they comply with safety norms,” said the court.
On August 2, the Delhi High Court transferred the investigation of the deaths to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to ensure transparency and public trust. The deceased — Shreya Yadav, 25, from Uttar Pradesh; Tanya Soni, 25, from Telangana; and Nevin Delvin, 24, from Kerala—had come to Delhi with dreams of clearing the UPSC examinations, only to meet a tragic end.
The Supreme Court also expressed concern over the effectiveness of safety measures taken by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
“We are not sure what effective steps have been taken by MCD and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. The recent unfortunate incident taking away the lives of some young aspirants in a coaching centre is before us and all. We deem it appropriate to expand the scope of the present petition and include Centre and MCD through chief secretary to show cause as to what safety norms have been prescribed so far. And, if so, what is the effective mechanism evolved to ensure their compliance,” the court stated.