It may seem absurd, but the Supreme Court demanded immediate closure and partial demolition of stands accommodating 12,000 people. Chennai’s new stadium didn’t have proper clearance upon expansion.

Three stands on the north-western side of Chennai’s M.A. Chidambaram Stadium (cricket) were opened in 2011 and hold nearly 12,000 people. Unfortunately, though they’re nearly identical with three previously built stands in the north-western part, they’re now closed for safety reasons.

This comes after yesterday’s decision of the Supreme Court. "Your starting point was wrong. You are not an average citizen constructing one room or so, you are TNCA. Everything smells and everything stinks," a bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R.V. Ramana told the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association which owns the stadium, formerly called Chepauk Stadium.

That harsh statement refers to the three mentioned (and pictured) yellow stands being built in violation to building norms. Available news coverage from India gives varying details as to what was built improperly. The most sensible answer we managed to find is that the stands themselves are in fact fine, but their parts outside the stadium don’t offer sufficient space for access/evacuation.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association to use the stands only after getting “planning permission from appropriate authorities.” That permission will require demolition of, among other parts, 12 meters of a gym in the south-western area of the stadium. For now the 12,000 seats are sealed off.

Ironically, that same accusation and similar decisions surfaced back in 2012, but then progressed to higher instances. During that time 21 games with the stands open were played safely.