New Delhi: On 21 March while Eid celebrations were on, Mehrauli resident Sakir Ahmed noticed that a building near his house had tilted. This was a four-storey building that residents had noticed was getting expanded. A little over a fortnight later, the same building collapsed, killing at least six young medical, engineering aspirants and a canteen owner and injuring eight others.
“Since November 2025, we had been noticing the unloading of construction material. Labourers told local shop workers that they had been hired to build two more floors,” said Ahmed, who runs a men’s salon in Mehrauli’s Said-ul-Ajaib neighbourhood.
While “illegal construction” or “expansion” of houses without government’s permission is not new in the area, Ahmed’s concern grew when he noticed the building tilt in front of his eyes. “On 21 March, I called 112 around 8 am and reported the incident. A PCR van came to the spot immediately, and later Delhi Police flagged the building to MCD,” he told ThePrint.
Ahmed said he subsequently made a formal complaint to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and “was informed an hour later on the 311 app that action will be taken against my complaint”.
Following the mandate of the app where all complaints are checked and resolutions are updated within 15 working days, Ahmed too received an update on the fifteenth day, he said. “I was informed that the matter was ‘resolved’, however construction continued even after that.”
Exhausted on receiving no resolution from the MCD, Ahmed made several posts on social media platform X, tagging government officials, the Delhi L-G, PMO and several leaders but no action was taken.
With no resolution from the MCD, Ahmed moved the Delhi High Court where his petition was represented by Faisal Naseem and Jitender Choudhary. “In the court we informed that the building had tilted, presented photographs as well, but MCD’s counsel convinced the court that no construction was taking place,” said Ahmed.
“The present writ petition has been filed seeking a direction to the respondent/MCD to stop unauthorised construction going on in the property bearing no. 24/1 Saidulajab, Opposite Anupam apartment, gate no. 4, IGNOU road” read the petition, which ThePrint has seen.
To this, MCD’s counsel Roshan Lal Goel submitted that “no construction whatsoever is going on in the subject property”. Goel alleged in court that the writ petition was filed “on account of a private dispute between the landlord and the tenant of the subject property”.
“We do not know how the MCD’s counsel convinced the courts that there was no construction going on when everyone in the neighbourhood could see construction material being unloaded, workers going up and down the building,” said Ahmed.
Intimidated by the thought of pursuing a legal case against the civic body, Ahmed stopped pursuing the case, he told The Print. “Going against a government body is a difficult task, so I decided not to challenge the order further.”
Now, witnessing the investigation, Ahmed said that the suspension of junior officers is a “stopgap solution”. “Why suspend such junior officers when the entire system was playing along with the owners and builders of these buildings? The entire area of Said-ul-Ajaib neighbourhood is full of such buildings that are one mishap away from ending the lives of innocent people,” he said.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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“We do not know how the MCD’s counsel convinced the courts that there was no construction going on when everyone in the neighbourhood could see construction material being unloaded, workers going up and down the building,” said Ahmed. Oh dear Ahmed, we think we know how they convinced ! Such a shame and travesty. Who will be held accountable when the justice dispensing bodies are themselves blind to apathy ?! No wonder the NCERT committee was hounded when they uttered against the mighty judiciary !