Shashwati Chowdhury
Published on: August 12, 2022 at 20:19 IST
The Supreme Court read Rule 27 of the Delhi Fire Service Rules 2010, which categorises any building over 15 metres in height as a high-rise and exempts buildings up to 17.5 metres tall with stilts, on Thursday.
The 15-meter restriction would apply to buildings without stilts, according to the Bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and V. Ramasubramanian, while those with stilts might reach a maximum height of 17.5 metres before being categorized as high rise.
This would render the Delhi Fire Department’s objections to buildings nullified that were higher than 15 metres but had stilt stands.
The Supreme Court Bar Association president Vikas Singh’s residential project in Defence Colony was under the cloud in court because it was 16 metres tall with stilts and the Delhi Fire Department had refused to give its approval.
Singh’s plea was dismissed by the Delhi High Court, and the Supreme Court then preferred an appeal.
Senior Advocate Nidhesh Gupta, who represented Singh, argued that the Delhi Master Plan 2021, as amended, now exempts buildings with stilts that are 17.5 metres in height from the category of a high-rise and that the Delhi Fire Service Rules (DSFE Rules) were not in line with the master plan.
Gupta further argued that although if the National Building Code’s parameters are comparable to those of the fire service, states retain the power to change their own regulations, giving the Master Plan primacy.
According to Rule 27 of the DFSE 2010, 15 metres would now be 17.5 metres with stilts, the top court agreed with Gupta.