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HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Date of Decision: March 10, 2022
VASANT VIHAR RESIDENTS WELFARE ASSOCIATION..... Appellant
Through: Mr. Kailash Vasdev, Senior Advocate with Ms. Ekta Mehta, Ms. Nayantara, Ms. Manya Jha &
Mr.Umrao Singh Rawat, Advocates
Through: Mr. Aditya N. Prasad & Ms. Dhriti Ghabra, Advocates for respondent
No.1 Ms. Garima Prasad, Senior Advocate with Mr. Sanjiv Sabharwal, Standing counsel for respondent No.2/SDMC
Mr. Jawahar Raja, Additional Standing Counsel for respondents
No.3 & 5
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANUP JAIRAM BHAMBHANI
JUDGMENT
1. The appellant, the Vasant Vihar Residents Welfare Association is aggrieved by orders dated 15.11.2021; 23.12.2021; 17.01.2022 and 03.03.2022, whereby the learned single Judge has directed for the removal of concrete ramps constructed by house-owners in the 2022:DHC:925-DB locality connecting the drive-ways of the houses to the road in front of them. Pursuant thereto, the S.D.M.C. and other authorities have started demolishing such drive-ways.
2. Pertinently, the appellant-association has filed an intervention application being CM APPL. No. 10877/2022 in CONT.CAS NO. 778/2021 before the learned single Judge, which is coming-up for hearing on 23.03.2022.
3. Learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of appellant-association submits that there is no dispute with regard to the directions issued by the learned single Judge for preservation of trees and for clear and unhindered access for users to the side-walks/footpaths; however, the association is aggrieved by the mindless breaking by the authorities of the concrete ramps connecting the houses with the roads, especially since the height of the roads has got raised over the decades and this tends to cause flooding in the houses. That being said however, and without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the house owners, learned senior counsel seeks time to obtain instructions from the association/its members regarding voluntary removal of un-authorized ramps in co-operation with the municipal authorities, to subserve the intent and purport of the orders of the learned single Judge, while at the same time protecting the rights of the house owners; and to apprise the learned single Judge in that behalf, on the next date fixed i.e. 23.03.2022.
4. In view of aforesaid submission of learned senior counsel for the appellant-association, we dispose of the present contempt appeal, by directing the S.D.M.C. to forbear from taking any further action for demolishing the concrete ramps, till the application for intervention (CM APPL. No. 10877/2022) filed by the appellant therein is takenup for hearing and decided by the learned single Judge.
5. The appeal is disposed of in the above terms.
6. Pending applications, if any, also stand disposed of.
(SURESH KUMAR KAIT) JUDGE (ANUP JAIRAM BHAMBHANI)
JUDGE MARCH 10, 2022