The Delhi High Court, in a recent session held on Wednesday, has sought responses from Delhi University, the Delhi government, and the Central government concerning a public interest litigation (PIL). This PIL demands that every college affiliated with Delhi University (DU) provide hostel accommodations for its students.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia has instructed the parties involved to submit their responses. The court has scheduled the next hearing for September 15.
This legal action follows the tragic incident of a building collapse in Delhi’s Satya Niketan, which resulted in the loss of seven lives, including those of students. The court has stated that this PIL will be considered alongside other similar cases related to the Satya Niketan building collapse.
The PIL was initiated by Vinod Jakhar, who seeks to address the pressing issue of the shortage of safe, affordable, and adequate hostel facilities for students attending DU and its affiliated colleges. The petition emphasizes that although Delhi University was established in 1922 as a “teaching and residential University,” the development of its hostel infrastructure has not kept up with the university’s growth.
Currently, around 1.32 lakh students are enrolled in regular programs at DU, yet many colleges either lack hostel facilities or have very limited capacity. Consequently, the PIL requests a comprehensive college-wise assessment of hostel needs, a time-bound policy for the development of university-wide hostels, the establishment of cluster hostels where space constraints exist, and rigorous structural and fire-safety audits of private paying guest accommodations and student hostels.
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Representing Vinod Jakhar in this case are Advocates Rishav Ranjan, Vimal Tyagi, and Balaji Pathak. For the Central government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, and Central Government Standing Counsels Jagdish Chandra and Nishant Gautam have made appearances.
