Bail denied to Satya Niketan PG operator over rent agreement

A Delhi court has denied anticipatory bail to Shubham Tyagi, the PG operator accused in the Satya Niketan building collapse case, over an undisclosed rent agreement.

The Patiala House Courts dismissed the plea, citing evidence including the statement of an injured student from the September 6 collapse that killed seven people.

The court found Tyagi’s rent agreement, not revealed in his bail application, showed he had taken the second and third floors specifically to operate a boys’ PG.

Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler said the circumstances required further investigation into Tyagi’s knowledge, consent and financial role.

Five people have been arrested so far in the case, as the Supreme Court separately reviews a plea for a nationwide safety audit of PG accommodations.

Five accused have been arrested so far in connection with the collapse, including the building’s owner and several Municipal Corporation of Delhi officials.

The Supreme Court has separately taken up the matter, with an Amicus Curiae seeking a nationwide, time-bound safety audit of PG accommodations and hostels near colleges.

The National Human Rights Commission issued notices to the Delhi government and the University Grants Commission earlier this month over the incident.

MCD had earlier demolished an adjoining unsafe structure at the collapse site, citing danger to public safety under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act.

Tyagi is reported to have told the court that the construction responsible for the collapse was not within the portion of the building he had rented.

The Satya Niketan building collapse on September 6 killed seven people and injured several others, prompting a wider crackdown on unsafe PG accommodations across Delhi.

Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler dismissed the anticipatory bail plea after considering submissions from counsel and evidence including the statement of an injured student.

The court noted that Tyagi’s own rent agreement, allegedly not disclosed in his bail application, showed he had taken the second and third floors of the building specifically to run a boys’ PG.

Patiala House Courts, New Delhi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0