On Nov 24, a bench adjourned the matter to Jan 8 due to lack of time. It directed that the ad-interim relief granted earlier would continue.Afzal said enactment without enforcement was meaningless. “There has to be proper maintenance, upkeep and accountability. Societies struggle to get regular inspections done and action is taken only after an accident occurs,” he told TOI.He also sought mandatory digitalisation of lift safety data. “Every lift… must have a QR code or bar code… showing when the last inspection was done… and the current status of the lift licence,” he said, adding that citizens should be able to file complaints easily. He flagged concerns over hoist lifts and said third-party certification had led to “a lack of accountability.”The issue gained urgency as a 12-year-old boy died in Pimpri Chinchwad after being trapped in a stalled lift on Oct 2. BJP MLA Siddharth Shirole raised the issue in the winter session, calling lift safety a “serious concern” and demanding immediate implementation of the 2017 Act. “It is about time the state govt’s energy department immediately looks into it,” he told TOI.In an affidavit, the state said rules under the Act were still being finalised due to technical complexities and the need to amend the parent law. It cited an April 28, 2025, notification decentralising lift permissions and said a draft amendment bill had been prepared. Until then, lift safety would continue under the 1939 Act and 1958 rules, it said.Housing society members said inspection processes lacked clarity. One committee member said, “Agencies hardly spend five to 10 minutes and issue a certificate. We are not sure whether they even check properly.”
