Delhi High Court sets aside notice for Mehrauli Archaeological Park demolitions; orders DDA to start process afresh

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday quashed the demolition notice issued by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to people living in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park area [Dargha Najeebuddin Firdousi v Delhi Development Authority & Anr].A Division Bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula ordered the DDA to commence to the process afresh and ensure that the people are given a fair and reasonable opportunity to be heard before any further demolition is done."Since it is an admitted position that no intimation was issued to the Petitioners prior to the demolition notice as mandated by the provisions of the DDA Act, we hereby quash the demolition notice issued on 12th December, 2022. Consequently, we direct the DDA to commence the process anew, ensuring that all Petitioners are accorded a fair and reasonable opportunity to be heard in accordance with proviso to Section 30(1) of the DDA Act, before any further demolition action is initiated. This exercise shall be completed within a period of three months from today,” the Court ordered..The Court passed the directions while dealing with a batch of petitions challenging the demolition drive.It was argued that DDA’s demolition order targets unauthorized occupations specifically in the vicinity of Village Ladha Sarai, rather than Village Mehrauli. Consequently, they argued that such orders should not extend to or affect their properties.The petitioners contended that they were not given fair hearing before the demolition drive began and this amounted to violation of Section 30(1) of the DDA ActThe Court was told that there are several petitions pending before the single-judge and a public interest litigation (PIL) is also pending dealing with the same issue.Therefore, the Court decided to tag the matters together and rendered a consolidated judgement..After considering the facts and arguments, the Court said that while it will not go into the intricate details regarding the demarcation report of the properties, the residents have to be given an opportunity to be heard.The Court rejected the DDA’s defence that demolition is being conducted as an effort to conserve the forest area and under the auspices of the High Court’s supervision.The Bench was of the view that the Court’s involvement in overseeing the conservation efforts does not exempt DDA from adhering to statutory procedure laid down by the legislature and principles of natural justice demands that the people be given the chance to be heard..Therefore, the demolition notice was set aside. .[Read Judgment]