Delhi High Court Closes PIL Seeking SIT Probe Into Airport Roof Collapses Due To Heavy Rainfall

The Delhi High Court on Monday closed a public interest litigation seeking SIT investigation into the roof collapse which happened last month at Delhi, Jabalpur and Rajkot airports, due to heavy rainfall.

A division bench comprising of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela closed the PIL filed by Civil Safety Council of India which argued that the unfortunate incidents have raised serious concerns about the safety of airport facilities.

The PIL sought SIT investigation headed by a group of expert Engineers or by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to assess the quality of building and the approvals given by the authorities in all the airport terminals in the national capital as well as the country.

The counsel appearing for the petitioner organization stated that three mishaps happened in three days at three different airports which raise serious concerns about the structural facilities at the airports.

The counsel appearing for the Union Government stated that an FIR has been registered by the Delhi Police last month with respect to the Delhi airport incident. He informed court that investigation is underway in the case which has been registered for the offences under Section 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of Indian Penal Code, 1860.

The counsel further stated that the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has constituted a High Level Committee comprising of Engineers of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) which has been asked to submit a report in the matter.

The court was further informed that all the airport operators have been asked to carry out third party audits about building safety through a common body like IITs etc.

The bench was also informed that the airport operators have also been directed to carry out investigation into technical aspects of the airport buildings, including the design and roof structure before the onset of monsoon season every year.

Accordingly, the bench closed the PIL in view of the steps initiated by the authorities.

Title: Civil Safety Council of India v. UOI & Ors.

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 851