New Delhi [India], September 11 (ANI): The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) to take an early decision on whether lifts in the Fire Tower of the Super Speciality Block (SSB) at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital need to be extended up to the terrace, an issue that is among the remaining fire-safety deficiencies delaying the Fire NOC for the facility.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia directed that the issue be considered by a departmental committee or any other appropriate-level officer at the earliest. The decision is to be immediately communicated to the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and brought to the notice of the High Court on the next date of hearing.
The Court passed the directions after perusing the status report filed by the DFS and directing that a copy of the CPWD’s status report be handed over to the fire service for obtaining instructions.
The matter has been listed for September 14, 2026, and the Bench has directed that it be placed “High on Board”.
The order arises from a public interest litigation filed by Social Jurist, a civil rights group, concerning the completion and operationalisation of the Super Speciality Block at RML Hospital. The petition is against the Union of India and other authorities.
The latest development comes against the backdrop of the CPWD informing the High Court that the fire-safety deficiencies in the SSB have been reduced from 20 to three.
The CPWD’s status report stated that the initial application for Fire NOC was submitted to the DFS on January 16, 2026. After the fire authorities identified 20 deficiencies on March 9, subsequent compliance and inspections reduced the outstanding issues to three.
One of the three remaining issues concerns motorable access and the turning radius around the SSB. Another relates to the connection between the SSB and the existing Trauma Centre. The third concerns fire-tower lift access up to the terrace.
On the lift issue, the CPWD has maintained that the building has three staircases extending from Basement Level-3 to the terrace. It has also stated that Fire Tower-1 has two lifts reaching the terrace, while Fire Tower-2 has two lifts extending up to the top occupied floor.
The CPWD has sought reconsideration of the requirement by relying on the approved building plans, the Pre-NOC and provisions of the Unified Building Bye-Laws, 2016. It has pointed out that the approved plan did not show the two Fire Tower-2 lifts extending to the terrace.
According to the CPWD’s status report, if the DFS ultimately requires the two lifts to be extended to the terrace, the work is technically feasible but could take approximately six months from installation to commissioning and cost around Rs 28 lakh.
The High Court’s latest order specifically focuses on resolving this issue before any such work is undertaken. Rather than proceeding based on an assumption that the extension is required, the Bench has directed the DFS to obtain a decision from the competent departmental level at the earliest and place the outcome before the Court.
The proceedings follow the Court’s earlier intervention stressing the public importance of completing the super speciality hospital facility and removing the fire-safety hurdles without delay. (ANI)
Delhi HC directs fire service to decide at earliest on RML hospital lift requirement
