Nothing More Tragic Than This: Bombay High Court On Fire Outbreak In Mumbai's Girgaon, Pulls Up State Over Delay In Notifying Safety Rules

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday pulled up the state government for the delay in notifying safety rules to curb man-made disasters such as fire outbreaks in vulnerable buildings. The recommendations of the Expert Committee constituted on the court's order have been pending before the government since February 2023.

“This is not done. I am sitting here to prompt you? Is it our job? Committee's recommendations are ready. They have been submitted in February and now it is December. And the other day here in this city what is happening? Can there be anything more tragic than this? The manner these two deaths have occurred”, Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya remarked, referring to the fire outbreak last week in a residential building near Girgaon Chowpatty, Mumbai, in which an advocate's father and grandmother passed away. The 60-year-old man died as he refused to leave his 82-year-old mother's side.

The court questioned whether the process of publishing draft notification and inviting public objections has even been initiated. “The expert body's recommendation is already available with you. You need only notify. Have you initiated the process at all?”

A division bench of Chief Justice Upadhyaya and Justice Arif S Doctor was hearing a PIL filed by lawyer Abha Singh regarding the failure of the State government and the Urban Development Department to finalize Special Regulations for Buildings Vulnerable to Man-made Disasters.

The court directed the Urban Development Department to submit a timeline for incorporation of the safety rules in Development Control and Planning Regulations – 2033 (DCPR -2023) and Unified Development Control and Planning Regulations (UDCPR).

“Every other day one or the other tragic incident of death and other bodily injuries is being reported on account of such outbreaks of fire. Any slackness in this respect cannot be appreciated”, the court stated in its order.

The petitioner appearing in person pointed out that the expert committee constituted for recommendations has submitted its report to the government, but no action has been taken. She highlighted that incidents of fires happen often and pointed out the fire in the residential building in Girgaon as a recent example.

Chief Justice Upadhyaya questioned the State's lack of progress, as the expert committee had submitted its findings to the state government on February 27, 2023, and yet, by December 2023, no progress had been made.

AGP Jyoti Chavan for the State assured the court that a detailed schedule for publishing the draft notification, inviting objections from the public, and finalizing the notification would be provided by the following day.

Emphasizing the immediate need to incorporate these regulations through amendments to DCPR and UDCPR, the court adjourned the case to Friday.

Background –

Advocate Abha Singh filed the PIL in 2018 pointing out that a notice was issued in February 2009, regarding Draft Special Regulations for Buildings Vulnerable to Manmade Disasters, which included norms for fire safety in the wake of the 26/11 attacks of 2008. However, a final notification was not issued and since then several disasters have taken place.

The court on July 29, 2022 ordered the constitution of an Expert Committee and suggested that the special regulations be incorporated in DCPR 2034 and UDCPR.

The committee was tasked with preparing Special Safety Control Rules/Regulations for the safety of the buildings from manmade calamities with a view of making planning of the City, recommending necessary modifications to DCPR - 2034 and UDCPR, and suggesting measures for the protection of buildings from bomb-explosives.

The committee also had to suggest measures to develop a Surveillance System for the buildings to which the Special Control Regulations are applicable, provisions to shift the people in the building in case of emergency, and measures to make the Regulations applicable to the buildings which have existed for a long time.

Case no. – Public Interest Litigation No. 80 of 2019

Case Title – Abha Singh v. State of Maharashtra

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