SC Seeks Interim Report on Civil Services Aspirants’ Deaths in Delhi Coaching Centre

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 20th Sept. The Supreme Court on Friday directed a government-appointed committee to submit an interim report within four weeks regarding measures to prevent incidents similar to the July deaths of three civil services aspirants at a coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar, Delhi. The students drowned in the basement library of Rau’s IAS Study Circle after heavy rains flooded the area.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan emphasized the urgency of the situation, urging the panel to expedite its consultation process and provide recommendations. The committee will consider legislative, policy, and administrative interventions to prevent future occurrences.

The court also instructed the governments of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi to update the bench on any policy, legislative, or administrative changes made to avoid a recurrence of such incidents. The bench suggested uniform safety initiatives across the National Capital Region (NCR) and indicated the possibility of issuing nationwide directions if necessary.

Attorney General R Venkataramani informed the court that the Centre’s high-level committee, formed to investigate the deaths, would likely submit its report within two months. The bench requested the interim report sooner, expressing concern over the urgency of the matter.

The court also clarified that the Supreme Court proceedings would not interfere with a task force already constituted by the Delhi High Court for the same issue. In August, the apex court had remarked that coaching centres had become “death chambers” and were endangering students’ lives.

The tragic deaths of three UPSC aspirants — Shreya Yadav (25) from Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni (25) from Telangana, and Nevin Delvin (24) from Kerala — had led the Delhi High Court to transfer the investigation from the Delhi Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to ensure public confidence in the inquiry.

The Supreme Court bench will reconvene in four weeks to review the committee’s interim findings and further assess potential nationwide safety regulations for coaching centres.