Flames rose from the ground-floor kitchen of Hotel Flourish Stays in Delhi's Hauz Rani on the morning of June 3 as thick smoke spread through the building and blocked its main exit.
Hotel staff tried to control the fire with extinguishers. As the flames moved to the floors above, trapped guests had to be rescued by breaking windows along the side of the building.
A magisterial inquiry running into more than 110 pages has now found severe lapses across the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Police, BSES Rajdhani Power Limited, the Tourism Department and public-health licensing authorities before the fire that killed 23 people.
The building had been booked twice for unauthorised construction. Police had been directed to stop the work. BSES had been asked to disconnect electricity to the unauthorised portions.
Yet, the building remained powered and operational.
Its health trade licence was approved on June 2, just a day before the fire, after the application had remained pending for nearly five months.
The inquiry also says an inspecting official concealed that a full-fledged restaurant, "Snacks & Bites", was operating on the ground floor during an inspection for renewal of a "Tea and Snacks" licence.
The report has recommended disciplinary and consequential action against officials found responsible.
It has not, however, reached a conclusion on what caused the fire. Reports from forensic, fire-service and electrical experts were awaited.
Licence Approved A Day Before Fire
The application to renew the Health Trade Licence was submitted on January 14, 2026.
The premises were inspected on May 14, but the inspection report was sent to senior officials only on June 2, a delay of about 19 days.
The licence was approved the same day. The fire broke out the next morning.
The inquiry says no satisfactory explanation was given for the delay and called for further examination to determine whether it resulted from negligence, deliberate inaction or another improper consideration.
The renewal application described the establishment as a "Tea and Snacks" outlet, even though a full restaurant was operating at the property.
The inspecting official allegedly failed to report that the business was functioning beyond the scope of the licence sought.
The inquiry also found wider failures in the licensing system.
It says applications were not processed through a transparent or chronological mechanism, senior officials relied solely on reports submitted by subordinate inspectors, and no independent verification was carried out before approval.
MCD portal data showed that several applications were approved on the same day they were submitted, raising questions about whether meaningful scrutiny was conducted.
Booked Twice, Enforcement Stayed On Paper
The building was booked for unauthorised construction in 2019 and again in 2020.
Demolition action was scheduled repeatedly, but the inquiry says enforcement largely remained confined to official records without matching action at the property.
Senior Building Department officials allegedly failed to seal or demolish the unauthorised portions, conduct regular inspections or properly supervise field staff.
Some officials are accused of concealing records and denying that the property had been booked or that demolition proceedings had been initiated, despite departmental records showing otherwise.
Junior engineers allegedly failed to check whether construction continued after the bookings or report the violations to senior authorities.
The inquiry says the inaction allowed the premises to be converted into a hotel and restaurant.
The report also suspects collusion between the owner or builder and some Building Department personnel.
The report says timely sealing or demolition might have prevented the incident and loss of lives.
Police Accused Of Ignoring Orders
The inquiry says Malviya Nagar police failed to act effectively on MCD stop-work directions issued in November 2019 and January 2020.
Despite receiving the directions and registering a case, police allegedly allowed construction to continue.
The police inspector posted at the time is accused of failing to enforce the January 2020 order and of not properly supervising the beat staff.
The inquiry has flagged the conduct of the then Station House Officer, alleging that key records and information linked to the property were suppressed or not clearly disclosed
The SHO reportedly said no earlier complaint had been received. The MCD, however, referred to an October 2019 complaint originating from the same police station.
The inquiry also refers to an FIR against the property owner and says incomplete disclosure of the complaint and FIR made a fair assessment difficult.
It suspected possible collusion between the owner and some beat personnel, saying continued construction was neither stopped nor properly reported.
Police, in its explanation before the inquiry team, said beat personnel visited the hotel for law-and-order duties, anti-terror checks, guest verification and examination of C-Forms for foreign nationals, not to inspect compliance with building, fire or electrical-safety norms.
A separate security-related FIR was registered in 2024 after the hotel was reportedly found without required security equipment. The matter was later settled before a Lok Adalat.
The inquiry notes that senior police officers knew about that case, but alleged additional floors, rooms and construction violations were not reported.
Power Stayed On, No Network Fault Found
The MCD wrote to BRPL in January 2020, seeking disconnection of electricity to the unauthorised fourth floor and part of the roof or fifth level.
BRPL did not disconnect the supply. It instead asked the MCD for the proposed demolition or sealing schedule.
The inquiry says BRPL was not required to wait for demolition and had misread the direction.
It also criticised BSES for relying on guidelines meant for impermissible industrial establishments, although the case concerned unauthorised building construction.
The inquiry, however, did not link BRPL's distribution network to the fire.
No voltage fluctuation, power surge, phase imbalance or other supply abnormality was reported in the 24 hours before the incident.
BRPL's meters, service point and distribution equipment were found intact, and no preliminary evidence of a short circuit was seen in its network.
Three non-domestic electricity connections were operating at the property. BRPL said no direct theft or illegal "kundi" connection was found.
It maintained that internal wiring beyond its supply point was under the consumer's control.
Six Rooms Approved, No Fire NOC
Hotel Flourish Stays was registered under the Bed and Breakfast framework on April 25, 2026.
Tourism authorities approved six rooms, three each on the first and second floors, despite the conditions cited in the inquiry allowing a maximum of five rooms and 12 beds.
The inspection committee allegedly concealed the existence of a basement, even though its own map showed stairs leading down to one.
The file said plans for all floors had been attached, but plans for only the ground, first and second floors were found. The inspection report nevertheless referred to four floors.
The committee certified the property as compliant with fire-safety and ventilation requirements.
However, no Fire No Objection Certificate had been issued, and some approved rooms reportedly had no outside window or adequate ventilation. The inquiry describes the inspection as "contradictory" and "negligent".
What Happened On June 3
According to the investigation, the head chef switched on an electric oil fryer and other appliances at around 8 am.
About 15 minutes later, flames were noticed near the fryer. The LPG hose then caught fire and was damaged, allegedly intensifying the blaze and producing dense smoke.
At around 8.35 am, the receptionist was alerted while checking rooms on the first floor.
Staff tried to control the fire using extinguishers, but it spread across the ground, first and second floors.
Flames and smoke blocked the main exit, forcing rescuers to break windows to reach trapped guests.
The inquiry does not conclusively identify the fryer, LPG system or internal wiring as the source of ignition.
The property owner, head chef and accountant holding the B&B registration were arrested.
Investigators seized the fryer, electrical wiring, LPG equipment, burnt records and two damaged DVRs. The hard disks were sent for possible recovery of CCTV footage.
The inquiry also noted conflicting accounts of when fire tenders arrived and that only one water tender was deployed at the nearby fire station.
It has recommended more firefighting resources, structural audits, mandatory safety checks, mock drills and stronger disaster-management systems.
The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.
But the inquiry has documented a trail of missed warnings: building bookings, stop-work directions, a power-disconnection order, flawed tourism checks and a trade licence approved a day before the blaze.
