SC seeks states' response on builders violating fire safety norms
New Delhi, July 4: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought response from all state governments on a PIL alleging flagrant violation of fire safety norms specified in the National Building Code, 2016, by builders, thus endangering the lives of people who purchased houses in residential complexes.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud issued notice to all the states and Union Territories after the Central government told it that it is an issue related to all states.
An NGO, United Human Rights Federation, has approached the apex court, saying real estate developers, either knowingly or unknowingly, violating fire safety norms and also alleged that there appeared to be a collusion between authorities and developers in grant of fire safety clearance.
Advocate V.K. Biju, filing the PIL, said that every year, approximately 25,000 persons die or suffer injuries from fire accidents in buildings.
The plea states: "A total of 20,377 cases of fire accidents were reported in India in 2014, in which 19,513 died and 1,889 were injured. Of these cases of fire, more than 18 per cent were reported from residential buildings. Maharashtra with 4,805 fire accidents in 2014 accounted for nearly 24 per cent of the total such incidents."
The NGO, citing newspaper reports also claimed that there are flagrant violations in the buildings of the Supreme Court and Parliament House as far as fire safety management is concerned.
The plea sought strict implementation of the 2009 Supreme Court judgment which came after a fire tragedy in a school in Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu, where 93 students were charred.
The apex court had ordered that before granting recognition or affiliation, the state governments and Union Territories shall ensure that buildings are safe and secure from every angle and they are constructed according to the safety norms incorporated in the National Building Code of India.
It had also ordered that all existing government and private schools shall install fire extinguishing equipment within a period of six months, and school buildings be kept free from inflammable and toxic material.
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Neither Rahul Gandhi nor his descendants will be able to restore Article 370: Amit Shah
Sangli, Nov 8: Neither Congress leader Rahul Gandhi nor his fourth generation will be be able to bring back Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Union minister Amit Shah said on Friday in a stinging attack on the opposition at a poll rally in Maharashtra's Sangli.
The J-K assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution seeking a dialogue between the Central government and elected representatives for restoration of Article 370 granting special status to the erstwhile state. The move was hailed by the valley-based political parties while it prompted protests by the main opposition BJP which demanded its rollback.
The provision was scrapped on August 5, 2019.
Addressing a rally in Sangli for Mahayuti (ruling alliance) candidates Sudhir Gadgil and Sanjay Kaka Patil, the Union Minister said the Congress was supporting the National Conference, the ruling party in J-K, in this endeavour.
"From the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, I am telling you Rahul baba that neither you nor you fourth generation will be able to restore Article 370. Every child of the country is ready to fight for Kashmir," the senior BJP leader asserted.
"When Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the decision to abrogate Article 370, I brought the bill (in Parliament) but Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Mamta Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Stalin opposed the move. They said do not remove Article 370 as it would lead to bloodshed in the Valley. Forget rivers of blood, nobody dared to throw a stone," Shah said.
During the UPA government of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, terrorist attacks were frequent, but after Modi became PM, the incidents at Uri and Pulwama led to surgical strikes that wiped out terrorists in Pakistan, Shah told the gathering.
Modi's efforts led to the construction of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which was being stalled by the Congress for the past 70 years, he said.
"After Modi came to power, in five years, the court's judgement was delivered, the temple's foundation stone was laid, it was constructed and the consecration ceremony took place," he said.
Attacking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for showing a copy of the Constitution at his rallies to attack the BJP, Shah said the Constitution is not an election agenda.
"The Constitution is about trust but these people (Congress) are seeking votes in the name of the Constitution and bluffing. Today, in one of the poll rallies, copies of the Constitution were distributed. The front cover was okay but the inside pages were blank. Not a single word was printed on them. Gandhi has insulted the Constitution, insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar and people of India," Shah said.
Gandhi should tell the people whether the copy of the Constitution that he held while taking oath as MP in Parliament was real or fake, Shah said.
"Gandhi recently said the country does not need reservations. But as long as the Modi government is in power, no one has the guts to touch the Constitution. Reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs will remain the way it always was," Shah asserted.
Maharashtra assembly polls will be held on November 20, while results will be declared on November 23.
