India
PG Owner and Wife Sent to 14-Day Judicial Custody Over Deadly Satya Niketan Building Collapse
A Delhi court on Monday ordered 14 days of judicial custody for Hariram Gupta and his wife Urmila Gupta, owners of a paying guest (PG) accommodation in Southwest Delhi's Satya Niketan area where a building collapse killed seven people. Their son, Mahesh Gupta, was remanded to two days of police custody. The order was issued by Judicial Magistrate First Class Bhavya Kharail, according to Bar and Bench.
The case stems from the September 6 collapse of a building used as a boys' PG near Delhi University's South Campus. The Delhi Police investigation has raised concerns about unauthorized construction and renovation work at the site, including the addition of four upper floors without proper approval.
According to the FIR, the building was several years old, and its owners—identified as Hari Bansal, alias Gupta, and his brother—had added the upper floors to generate rental income. Police allege that further construction was underway at the time of the collapse and that the owners knew the building's foundation could not support the additional load, yet proceeded with the work regardless, endangering residents.
The collapse occurred around 1 pm, with police receiving reports at approximately 1:34 pm that students were trapped inside the fallen structure. ASI Praful Toppo, the complainant in the FIR, said police found the building completely collapsed upon arrival. A local inquiry cited in the FIR confirmed the structure was being used as a PG accommodation for students and other residents.
Emergency response included senior police officers, the district crime team, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) personnel, the fire brigade, and ambulance services. Additional DCP Abhimanyu Poswal said renovation work was underway in the building's basement before the collapse, and that Gupta had admitted to overseeing this work. An injured labourer also told police that construction was ongoing in the basement at the time.
Four of the seven deceased were identified in the FIR as Neeraj (19), son of Gyanchand; Aaditya Kumar, son of Raju Kumar; and Krishna, son of BK Bhardwaj, along with one other unidentified victim; all were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre. Inspector Narender Kumar is leading the investigation.
Separately, the Delhi High Court is hearing a public interest litigation related to the tragedy, seeking ₹1 crore in compensation for victims' families and a structural audit of PG accommodations and hostels citywide. A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia heard the petition on Monday and cautioned the government against evading responsibility. The court directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to conduct a high-level inquiry into whether the building had valid construction permissions, determine accountability among officials for any lapses, and report on proposed action against those responsible.
Following the collapse, the Delhi government has ordered the sealing of illegal five-storey buildings and intensified inspections of PG accommodations and coaching centres across the city to enforce safety regulations. The incident has also renewed calls for structural audits of student housing, a public safety database for such accommodations, and expanded government hostel capacity, given that only a small percentage of students currently have access to institutional housing.