Jahangirpuri Demolition: Shop Owner Moves Supreme Court Against Demolition Of His Juice Shop, Seeks Compensation
A juice shop owner from Delhi's Jahangirpuri area has moved the Supreme Court of India, claiming that his shop was unauthorizedly demolished by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation on Wednesday.Significantly, a Bench led by Justice Nageswara Rao today, while hearing a petition filed against the said demolition drive, said that it will take a "serious view" of the demolitions that took...
A juice shop owner from Delhi's Jahangirpuri area has moved the Supreme Court of India, claiming that his shop was unauthorizedly demolished by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation on Wednesday.
Significantly, a Bench led by Justice Nageswara Rao today, while hearing a petition filed against the said demolition drive, said that it will take a "serious view" of the demolitions that took place after the information regarding its status quo order was given to the Mayor.
The Bench also issued notice to the Union of India and the States of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat on another petition filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind against the authorities in different states resorting to demolition of houses of persons accused in crimes. Meanwhile, it has extended until further orders the status quo order.
Ganesh Gupta, the Petitioner, claims that the shop was allotted to him by DDA in year 1977-78 and since that period he has been regularly paying the necessary fees and taxes. On the day of demolition, he tried to show all the required documents but no heed was paid to his requests and his shop was damaged.
Gupta now seeks to restrain NDMC and its officials from undertaking any demolition action, stated to be contrary to law and actuated by malice or ill will towards a particular community. He also seeks compensation for his loss. The plea is filed through Advocate Anas Tanwir.
It is alleged that the NDMC's demolition drive is "communally motivated" inasmuch as the corporation is currently seized of over 3,000 pending cases of encroachment and yet, has selectively chosen to conduct its demolition exercise in Jahangirpuri "in undue haste, giving a complete go by to mandatory statutory provisions, days after communal violence flared".
The plea claims that the demolition drive was completely contrary to the provisions of law, Sections 343, 347B and 368 of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi Act, 1957.
Notably, both the proviso to Section 343, and Section 368 of the Act provide that an opportunity be provided to the affected person to show cause as to why a demolition order should not be made.
The plea alleges that completely contrary to the said provisions of the Act, the NDMC did not even issue a show-cause notice to the affected residents before commencing its demolition exercise dated 20.04.2022.
Additionally, it is alleged that during the demolition drive the NDMC also removed the stalls of certain street vendors in contravention of the Street Vendor (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, which affords street vendors protection from eviction and relocation.
It adds, "even if the structures in question were unauthorized, the NDMC's demolition drive dated 20.04.2022 was illegal in light of the provisions of the Delhi Special Provisions Amendment Act, 2020, under which protection from demolition has been accorded to unauthorized structures built before 2014 until 31st December 2023."