The Delhi High Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of the shortage of space and facilities at Delhi’s night shelters as the city grapples with extreme cold conditions.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia directed the Central and State governments and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to file their replies in the matter.

The Bench said that it expects that all the authorities will take adequate steps to ensure the residents of the city can save themselves from the chilling cold.

"If any of us, God forbid, is required to stay there for a night, we don’t know what will happen. Be sensitive," the Court remarked.

It said that the case will be considered again on January 14.

The Court passed the order after the matter was brought to its notice by another Bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla.

Justice Hari Shankar and Shukla relied on a report published in The Hindu on January 11, stating that even as the temperature in Delhi reached below 5 degrees Celsius, several All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) patients and their families were sleeping outside the AIIMS metro station under the open sky due to lack of space in night shelters.

It was stated in the report that many people had come from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand and Bihar but had no means to pay for a stay at any accommodation in Delhi.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, Central Government Standing Counsel Ashish Dixit along with advocates Amit Gupta, Shubham Sharma, Naman and Yash Vardhan Sharma appeared for the Union of India.

Delhi government was represented through its Standing Counsel (Civil) Sameer Vashisht and advocate Harshita Nathrani.