Delhi High Court denies PIL asking for orders to demolish purportedly unlawful building.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court dismissed a PIL seeking an order to demolish alleged illegal and unlicensed building being carried out in the Okhla Industrial area, with costs of Rs 25,000.

The court reasoned that the plea was filed without conducting sufficient research. The authority’s attorney informed the high court that the owner of the properties in question had been given the necessary clearance to complete the work, and the court then issued the order.

“This court dismisses the present public interest petition along with the request with costs of Rs 25,000 to be paid equally to the respondents, that is, MCD and DDA in four weeks,” a bench made up of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora recently ordered.

“Keeping in view the fact that the present petition has been filed without adequate homework/investigation,” the bench stated.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) were being asked to demolish what allegedly unlawful and unapproved construction was being done by the owner of two properties in the Okhla Industrial area. This petition was being heard by the high court.

The woman who filed the petition claimed that DSIIDC owned the land. She claimed to have made a complaint to the authorities, asking them to file a lawsuit against the owner. Still, nothing was done.

A letter from the DSIIDC allowing the owner to proceed with the building work required to reinforce the structure was presented to the court by the MCD’s legal representative. In addition, he gave over a building blueprint and an MCD certificate pertaining to one of the two properties.

The petition was allegedly filed to smear the government and extract money, according to the attorneys representing the MCD and DDA.