"De-Sealing Orders Have Led To Frantic Activity Of Misuse & Encroachment In Delhi": Monitoring Committee Tells Supreme Court

The Monitoring Committee appointed by Supreme Court for checking illegal use of residential properties for commercial use and establishments in the capital criticised the the Supreme Court's August 14 de-sealing order.

On August 14, top court had ordered de-sealing of residential units in Delhi which had been sealed by the Court-appointed Monitoring Committee.

A 3-Judge Bench comprising of Justices Arun Mishra, BR Gavai and Krishna Murari had arrived at this decision upon finding that the Committee had never been authorized to take action against the residential premises that were not being used for commercial purposes.

The Court had then categorically held that it had not granted authority to the Committee to seal residential premises on private land, particularly when they were not being used for commercial purposes.

Appearing for the urban development ministry and the Delhi Development Authority, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta took strong exception to the monitoring committee criticising the SC judgment. 

"This committee had the audacity to say that Your Lordships were wrong about jurisdiction of the Committee. We have already filed an application that in 2018 there is already a task force created and this committee has thus the Committee ceased to exist. Sealing of residential premises is beyond their jurisdiction and I am aghast at their observations and functioning," the law officer told a bench of CJI SA Bobde, Justices AS Bopanna & V. Ramasubramaniun.

The Monitoring Committee told court that the ruling had led to large scale de-sealing of buildings that had been sealed for unauthorised construction, resulting in a "free for all" in the capital, resulting in encroachments by local bodies.

Today, the bench also sought the opinion of amicus curiae and senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, who has continuously assisted the court in the matter for 25 years.

"Committee was appointed in 2006. Question was whether there is any unauthorised construction which the municipality has looked over. Corporations have been found hand in glove and to say they are sufficient to take care of this issue is not correct," submitted (Amicus) Senior Advocate Ranjit Kumar.

Kumar said the report needed consideration in light of the August 14 judgment. Kumar also sought to be relieved from the task of amicus curiae. On his request, the bench appointed senior advocate Guru Krishna Kumar as amicus.

The Court had on August 14 clarified that the Committee had been appointed only to check the misuse of residential properties for commercial purposes, but it could not have usurped statutory powers which had not been conferred on it by the Court.

"It is apparent from the various orders passed by this Court from time to time and from the various reports of the Monitoring Committee that it was never authorized by this Court to take action against the residential premises that were not being used for commercial purposes. It was appointed only to check the misuser of the residential properties for commercial purposes. After that, this Court directed that the Monitoring Committee should also look into the matter of "encroachment on the public land" and "unauthorized colonies" that have come up on the public land and were wholly unauthorized without sanction. At no point in time, this Court had empowered the Monitoring Committee to act vis-¬à-¬vis to the purely residential premises."

The monitoring committee, comprising K J Rao, former advisor to the Election Commissioner, Bhure Lal, chairman of Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, and Major General (Retd) Som Jhingan, was set up on March 24, 2006, by the court.

The bench has also allowed the impleadment application of the Defence Colony Market Association. The SG said he had  no objection to their application being allowed as they were an affected party.

The bench said it would hear this issue after two weeks.