Delhi Building Collapse: Lookout Circular Issued Against PG Owner as Rescue Operations Continue; High Court to Hear PIL

New Delhi: In a major development following the fatal collapse of a five-storey building housing a boys' paying guest accommodation in South West Delhi’s Satya Niketan, the Delhi Police on Monday issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against the primary property owner, Hariram Bansal, as emergency crews continued search operations.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court agreed to grant an urgent hearing to a PIL seeking strict regulatory accountability for unauthorized student hostels operating in the national capital.

The multi-storey structure—which housed 'Hostel Daze,' a student accommodation facility near Delhi University’s South Campus—crumbled on Sunday afternoon while unpermitted renovation work was underway. Rescue workers from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Fire Service, and local police retrieved additional bodies overnight into Monday morning, bringing the confirmed death toll to seven. Several others remain hospitalized with serious injuries, and emergency teams are continuing to clear tons of concrete rubble to rule out any remaining trapped occupants.

Investigating officials registered an FIR under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against Bansal and other entities involved in operating the property, citing charges of culpable homicide, negligence in maintaining a structure, and endangering human life. Police issued the lookout notice to prevent Bansal and co-owners from fleeing the country as authorities examine how two unauthorized additional floors were added to a structure originally built as a single-story residence.

Preliminary probes indicate ongoing repair work on load-bearing ground floor elements, combined with long-standing structural dampness, triggered the sudden collapse.

The tragedy reached the Delhi HC on Monday morning when a bench of the Delhi High Court, led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, allowed an urgent listing of a PIL filed over the disaster. The plea highlights severe safety lapses across residential hubs converted into commercial student hubs without emergency exits, structural audits, or municipal approvals. The PIL filed by Aniket Kumar Gupta has sought ₹1 crore compensation for the relatives of the victims besides a structural audit of all PG accommodations/ hostels in the national capital.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) faces intense public and political scrutiny following the incident. In response to the tragedy, the civic body issued immediate orders to seal all illegal constructions exceeding four storeys across the city and ordered a three-day demolition notice for hazardous, unapproved buildings in the vicinity. The Delhi government has separately ordered a magisterial inquiry into the disaster, promising strict legal action against municipal officials and property operators found negligent.