Neeta Bhardwaj & Ors. v. Kamlesh Sharma

15. Vide order dated 3rd February, 2023, the Supreme Court had extended time for vacating the dharamshalas till 15th March, 2023, beyond which date, the authorities were given the liberty to take the possession forcibly. The said order reads as under: “ I.A. No. 87139/2022 Application for impleadment is rejected. The order dated 09.01.2023 passed in I.A. NO. 108591/2022 will equally apply, subject to the modification as directed in this order. In view of the request made by the learned counsel for the applicants, we grant time to vacate the premises/property by 15.03.2023. In case the applicants do not vacate the premises/property by 15.03.2023, it will be open to the authorities to take action including taking Police aid and assistance to get the premises/property vacated and forcibly take possession. It is stated by the learned counsel for the State and authorities that the applicants and their families will be accommodated in the temporary night shelters/rain basera.”

16. In view of the above order of the Supreme Court, the time granted for vacating the premises expires today. Accordingly, the unauthorised occupants of dharamshalas and jhuggis shall now be removed from the Kalkaji Mandir premises by the SHO, Kalkaji within 48 hours and no further time shall be granted to any unauthorised occupant. Allotment of small/ large temporary Shops

17. The 10th Report of the Ld. Administrator noted that temporary shops complex have been lying vacant since November, 2022 as a majority of the shopkeepers have expressed inability to pay the tehbazari amount fixed by the Court for small shops. In view of said submission the Court on, 22nd February, 2023 observed as under:

18. The status report submitted by the ld. Administrator states that in view of order passed by the Court, a public notice dated 1st March 2023 was issued calling upon the allotees of the small and large shops to indicate their willingness to take possession of the shops and a meeting was fixed for 5th March, 2023. Thereafter, a representation dated 5th March, 2023 was received by the ld. Administrator to the effect that the tehbazari of Rs.30,000/- for smaller temporary shops fixed by this Court is on the higher side.

19. In view of the above situation, it is necessary to summarise below the manner in which these small and large temporary shops in Kalkaji Mandir premises came to be constructed and the tehbazari amount was fixed. The said chronology is as under: i. There were a large number of shopkeepers who were unauthorised occupants in the Kalkaji Mandir. They had no right to occupy the Mandir premises which was in a chaotic condition. The unauthorised shopkeepers, as per various reports which were received by the Court, were completely haphazardly selling their wares. There was no regulation of any kind in the premises. Some were paying amounts to occupy the shops to various claimants. A large number of shopkeepers were in litigation. This Court had, vide order dated 27th September, 2021, while appointing an Administrator, taken a compassionate view of the matter considering that these shopkeepers were selling samagri, prasad etc., in the Mandir premises for several years. The said order dated 27th September, 2021 reads as under:

(C) Diary No. 9073/2022. The said SLP was dismissed by the

Supreme Court vide order dated 25th March, 2022. iii. Insofar as the tehbazari amounts in respect of the said temporary shops are concerned, vide order dated 9th December, 2021, it was observed that the said amount would be fixed by the Court. Thereafter on 21st December, 2021, the Court had directed that interested persons may submit their bids and the ld. Administrator was directed to prepare a list all such persons who were willing to take allotment. The relevant portion of the order dated 21st December, 2021 reads as under:

56. Pursuant to the above recommendations of the ld. Administrator, the tehbazari amount is fixed at Rs.1,000/- per day for all the shopkeepers who are allotted the small temporary shops. In respect of widows, the tehbazari amount shall be fixed at Rs. 500/- per day for the said shops. Depending upon the assessment of revenues which the ld. Administrator may make, the modification of the tehbazari amount would be considered by this Court, at a later stage.

57. Accordingly, allotment of all the small temporary shops shall commence from 14th September, 2022, as per the terms set out hereinabove. It is made clear that the deposit of the tehbazari amount for the first month shall be made by the shopkeepers at the time of allotment.” v. On the basis of the recommendations made, the allotments were made by the ld. Administrator and the tehbazari were fixed by the Court at Rs.30,000/- per month and Rs.1,00,000/- per month for the small and the large shops respectively. vi. During the entire process of renovation and redevelopment of the Kalkaji Mandir, small and large temporary shops were constructed, under the supervision of the Court, by Mr. Goonmeet Singh Chauhan, the Court appointed architect. The allottees who were finalised by the Ld. Administrator had contributed Rs. 1 lakh for large temporary shops and Rs. 30,000/- for small temporary shops for the said construction. vii. However, after the construction of the shops, none of the allottees have taken possession and have moved repeated applications for reduction of tehbazari. On 22nd September, 2022 when the Court was considering one such application CM APPL.42041/2022 filed by the shopkeepers and the Short Report filed by the ld. Administrator seeking modification of the tehbazari amount, the Court observed as under:

20. The Court has considered the matter and it is seen from the record that the shopkeepers were, for several years, paying tehbazari to the Baridaars/Pujaris. Today, it has been brought to the notice of the Court by ld. Counsel appearing for the small shopkeepers that this issue was also subject matter of suits which were pending before the District Courts as well and the tehbazari being paid by the shopkeepers can be seen from the record of the said courts. For example, in the year 2003, tehbazari to the tune of Rs.7,000/- per month was being paid for a 12 x 12 shop per month. It is submitted by ld. Counsel for the ld. Administrator that no tehbazari has been paid by the allotees of the large shops.

21. This Court notes that the footfall at the Kalkaji Mandir is substantial. There are thousands of devotees who visit the Mandir on a daily basis. The shops were conducting brisk business selling various wares including Samagri etc., Considering the various factors, ie., the tehbazari amounts historically paid, the number of visitors, the deliberations with the allottees, the report of the administrator recommending the amount and the future prospect and enjoyment by allottees of the shops, this Court is of the opinion that the tehbazari is not liable to be reduced.

22. The allotments to all the small shops and larger shops which were made earlier, in view of the fact that the allottees are unwilling to pay the tehbazari amount fixed by the Court, shall stand cancelled. Accordingly, this Court directs the ld. Administrator to go ahead and make recommendations for a public auction of both the small and large temporary shops, on a license basis, without giving any priority to the earlier allotees whatsoever.

23. The amounts, already paid by the small and large shopkeepers, shall stand forfeited, in as much as the non taking of possession of the shops has resulted in adverse consequences to the administration of the Mandir as devotees have been inconvenienced and unauthorised hawkers are being encouraged.

24. At this stage, ld. Counsel for small shopkeepers submits that the amount being paid in 2003 for a 12 x 12 shop was Rs.1,500/- per month and not 7,000/- as stated earlier by him. In response to this, some of the Counsels submit that this was purely an interim measure. Either way, this Court is of the opinion that the tehbazari amount does not deserve to be reduced. Arrangement for Navratras starting from 22nd March, 2023

25. For the Navratra period starting from 22nd March, 2023 to 30th March, 2023, the following arrangements is directed: i. The Delhi Police shall deploy the requisite number of police personnel in three shifts along with barricades for the management of the crowd as also to ensure access to the Kalkaji Mandir premises in an orderly manner. It shall be the responsibility of the Delhi Police to ensure that there is no stampede or any such kind of heavy crowding situation and the crowd is managed properly. ii. Two ambulance and two fire brigades shall also be made available to tender to any emergency situation in the mandir during the Navratras. iii. The Health Department GNCTD, and SDM, Kalkaji shall deploy 100 Civil Defence volunteers in two shift each, in the morning and evening as also one doctor and two paramedics. iv. Delhi Jal Board shall ensure that there is continuous supply of potable drinking water to the Piyaos within the Mandir. It shall also be ensured that there is no blockage or leakage in the drains around the Mandir. v. BSES is directed to ensure that there is uninterrupted supply of electricity to the Mandir during the aforementioned period. A letter dated 1st March, 2023, has already been sent by the ld. Administrator to BSES for the aforesaid purpose. vi.

DUSIB shall deploy sixteen mobile toilets along with the requisite staff to ensure proper cleanliness of the said toilets. vii. PWD as also the DDA shall repair the wall on the outer ring road side on the periphery of the Kalkaji Mandir which is stated to be broken at numerous places, and the fence separating the DDA land from the Mandir premises area respectively. viii. In order to meet the requirements of the devotees during the Navratra period, for the period between 22nd March, 2023 to 30th March, 2023, all the small temporary shops shall be permitted to be used for selling of samagri, prashad and other pooja related items upon the payment of tehbazari of Rs.10,000/- for the nine days period. For aforesaid purpose, the existing allottees, if willing, may be permitted to sell their wares during the nine days navratra period on advance payment of the amount fixed by the Court. The said permission to the allottees is purely temporary in nature and only for the nine days period. No rights shall accrue to them for operating the shops during this period. An undertaking to this effect shall also be obtained. ix. The parking in the Kalkaji Mandir premises shall be regulated by the Delhi Police during the navratra period along with the MCD. For the said purpose, ld. Administrator may give directions to the concerned MCD agency. As an interim arrangement, the revenue generated during the entire period from the Parking, shall be deposited by the MCD into the account of the ld. Administrator, after deducting the amounts incurred by the said agencies. The same shall be subject to further orders of the Court.

26. List on 19th April, 2023 at 3:30.

PRATHIBA M. SINGH JUDGE MARCH 15, 2023 Rahul/DJ/MR/SK (Corrected & released on 18th March, 2023)