CCP No. 155/2007

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* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

Date of Reserve: 21.11.2008

Date of Order: 14^th January, 2009

CCP No. 155/2007

%

14.01.2009

M/s Anant Raj Agencies Pvt. Ltd. & Anr.

... Petitioners

Through: Mr. Harish Malhotra, Sr. Adv. with

Mr. N.K. Kantawala and Mr. Priyank Sharma, Advocates

Versus

Municipal Corporation of Delhi & Ors.

... Respondents

Through: Mr. H.S. Phoolka, Sr. Adv. with

Ms. Maninder Acharya, Mr. Kanwar Faisal and

Ms. Vijaishree Dubey and Mr. Ajay Verma, Advocates

JUSTICE SHIV NARAYAN DHINGRA

1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the

judgment?

2. To be referred to the reporter or not?

3. Whether judgment should be reported in Digest?

JUDGMENT

The petitioner filed this contempt petition alleging deliberate

violation of order dated 3.11.2006 of this Court in WP(C) 20153/2005 titled M/s

AR Agencies Private Limited v. MCD wherein this Court gave following

directions:

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2.

Notice of the petition was served upon the respondents. The stand

taken by the respondents is that the respondents have not committed any

contempt much less deliberate violation of the order of the Court.

3.

The petition was initially filed against MCD, during pendency of the

petition DDA and Forest Department were also made party. The stand of the

DDA had been that the survey of land reveals that the land of the petitioner falls

within Regional Park. The stand of MCD had been that DDA’s affidavit showed

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that the land in question has been marked as a part of Regional Park in the

Master Plan, even though the same had not been included in reserved forest in

notifications dated 2.4.1996 & 15.3.1991. Status of land was to be ascertained

by the Forest Department and Revenue Department after demarcation and

settlement of all rights and concessions pertaining to the Southern Ridge. Since

a final exercise of demarcation and settlement of rights in terms of the provisions

of Indian Forest Act had been directed to be undertaken under the supervision of

Chief Secretary, Government of NCT, and all endeavours were to be made to

ensure that the suit lands were surveyed at the earliest and the position was

made clear to MCD, MCD could act only after the position was made clear to it.

The exercise of demarcation as required to be undertaken was to take place in

two stages; first stage included the demarcation by Revenue Department, after

which the location of khasra numbers, in question, with respect to boundary of

ridge was to be ascertained by the Forest Department. Commissioner MCD on

affidavit stated that till date as per the records available, the said exercise, as

envisaged in the order dated 3.11.2006 had not been completed. Only the first

stage i.e. demarcation by the Revenue Department had been completed and the

demarcation of the suit land by the Forest Department has not been completed.

Therefore, MCD cannot be said to have deliberately not complied with the orders

of this Court and in fact the order records that after completion of exercise by first

department, the information was to be sent by Govt. of NCT to MCD and MCD

was to sanction the plan only if the information to MCD was that the suit land did

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not fall within the Regional Park proposed. It is further submitted that the

application of the petitioner for grant of sanction for construction of motel building

was referred to the Town Planning Department for examination and the Town

Planning Department of MCD, sought clarification from DDA in respect of land

use since the area happened to be border line of Ridge/Regional Park. This

clarification was sought vide letter dated 30.11.2005. In response, DDA marked

the tentative location of the site on the land use plan 2001 and part b