The Delhi High Court on Tuesday admonished the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for failing to secure and clean a drain in the national capital, where a mother and her three-year-old son recently fell and died due to waterlogging caused by heavy rains.
Describing the situation as shocking, the court criticized the senior officials of the civic body for not performing their supervisory duties.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, was addressing a plea concerning the deaths resulting from a fall into a waterlogged open drain in the Ghazipur area.
The incident occurred on July 31 when the mother and child drowned in a half-open under-construction drain on a waterlogged street in Ghazipur, following a heavy rainstorm in the national capital that evening.
Yesterday, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) claimed that the section of the drain where the incident took place fell under MCD’s jurisdiction. Today, DDA’s counsel, Advocate Prabhsahay Kaur, clarified that the portion of the drain involved in the incident had been with the MCD for over a year.
Upon reviewing photographs, the court told MCD’s counsel, Advocate Manu Chaturvedi, that some form of barricading and safety measures should have been in place around the drain, which appeared dirty and uncleaned for years.
Chaturvedi informed the court that MCD was in the process of covering the drain and that it was being cleaned daily. However, the court remarked that despite MCD’s claims of paying for cleaning services, the presence of debris and plastic suggested that the area had not been cleaned for an extended period.
ACJ Manmohan remarked, “Just because you’re paying doesn’t mean it is cleaned. There is debris and plastic there. It seems it has not been cleaned for a year.” He added that the condition of the drain was “startling” and criticized the MCD officials for not taking action against their own staff.
The bench also instructed the MCD to ensure the area was properly barricaded to prevent further tragedies, emphasizing that the responsibility for the incident lay with the MCD if the drain had been under their jurisdiction for over a year.
The court further questioned the Delhi Police about the progress of its investigation and whether the forensic examination of the drain area had been audio and video recorded, as required by new criminal laws.
The concerned Investigating Officer (IO) and Deputy Commissioner of MCD were ordered to appear in court after lunch. During the post-lunch session, they personally appeared, and Chaturvedi admitted that the area was not barricaded before but assured that barricading would be completed within 2-3 days.
The MCD official explained that when the site was handed over to the civic body in October last year, it was in poor condition, and a proposal to clean the area was made. The court, however, criticized the MCD for not taking action against those dumping waste and remarked that the level of cleaning was inadequate.
The court directed the Delhi Police to investigate the case thoroughly and invoke charges of criminal negligence against the erring officials. It also ordered the MCD to clean and barricade the drain immediately.
The court decided not to determine the jurisdictional issue between MCD and DDA, leaving it to the police to investigate. The Delhi Police and MCD were instructed to file status reports within 10 days.
The MCD Deputy Commissioner assured the court that the drain would be cleaned and barricaded. The case will be reviewed on August 22.
The plea seeks action against DDA officials for alleged negligence and requests a comprehensive audit of ongoing drain construction projects in the city to ensure proper safety measures, including signage and warning signs.
