By IANS
New Delhi : The Supreme Court Monday decided to examine the central government’s ordinance granting 15,000 unauthorised colonies in New Delhi immunity from demolition and other punitive measures till the end of the next year.
A bench headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat issued notices to the union urban development ministry, the Delhi government, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and others, and asked them to reply by Nov 1.
The bench, which also included Justices C.K. Thakkar and L.S. Panta, was hearing a petition by the Delhi Pradesh Citizens’ Council, which challenged the legality of the Sep 15 ordinance.
The petitioner said the government issued the ordinance to negate the apex court’s Aug 27 order. By that order the apex court asked the government to stop commercial activities in the residential complexes within three weeks and put the unauthorised colonies on a par with other authorised colonies in the capital.
The ordinance also granted immunity from demolition and other punitive measures to the buildings in unauthorised colonies, like Sainik Farms and various slum clusters.
The bench passed its Aug 27 order following an unprecedented courtroom drama, which witnessed Justice Pasayat pitted in an unsavoury row with central government counsel Vikas Singh on the question of the court’s power to order closure of the commercial activities in the unauthorised colonies without hearing the four million affected people.