Noting that it can’t remain a mute spectator to the loss of human lives in fire incidents, the Jharkhand High Court on Thursday asked the state government to carry out a state-wide fire safety audit in a time-bound manner.

The high court on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of the Dhanbad high-rise fire incident in which 14 people were charred to death and 18 others were injured.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice Deepak Roshan issued notices to Director General of Fire Safety and Urban Development Department Secretary to file their response to a PIL over fire safety.

The bench also issued notices to the civic bodies in all districts and the respective deputy commissioners to ensure that fire safety norms are strictly adhered to.

Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan informed the court that two committees have been formed to investigate the recent incidents in Dhanbad and other districts and to furnish a report in the matter.

The court asked the deputy commissioners and superintendents of police in all districts to carry out a fire safety audit in their respective areas. The officials will ensure that all protocols for fire safety are carried out according to the prescribed mandatory rules, it said. The case will be heard again on February 17.

Altogether 14 people -- 10 women, three children and a man -- were charred to death on Tuesday after a major fire broke out on the second floor of 'Ashirwad Tower' in the Joraphatak area of Dhanbad, around 160 km from the state capital Ranchi.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.