Delhi High Court notice to NDMC on petition to open gates in Jor Bagh

The court asked the Jor Bagh Association to respond whether the locality is a gated colony, while also directing the New Delhi Municipal Council to explain whether the association is allowed to erect gates inside the colony

New Delhi The Delhi high court on Thursday directed south Delhi’s Jor Bagh Association to explain whether it enjoys the privilege of locking the colony gates, after a plea alleged that people residing in nearby areas of the posh colony faced inconvenience and suffering due to the gates being locked.

A sidewalk in Jor Bagh. The plea stated that the public is suffering because several banks, temples, markets, community centres and schools are located inside the locked colony. (HT Archive)

The court asked the association to respond whether the locality is a gated colony, while also directing the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to explain whether the Jor Bagh Association is allowed to erect gates inside the colony.

A bench of chief justice Satish Chandra Sharma and justice Subramonium Prasad asked the NDMC to respond to the petition by the BK Dutt Colony Youth Association within a week.

The plea stated that the public is suffering because several banks, temples, markets, community centres and schools are located inside the locked colony. As interim relief, the petitioners sought direction to the authorities and the Jor Bagh Association to open gates number 1 to 7 during the day, and said that these gates should be manned at night.

Appearing for the petitioners, advocate Ajay Chowdhary said the Jor Bagh Association has closed several gates in the Jor Bagh Colony which is hindering the movement of people residing there and adjoining colonies and causing difficulties in their daily lives.

The petition, filed through advocate Kushal Kumar, said that in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several RWAs closed the gates to their colonies in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus.

“The respondent no. 2 (Jor Bagh Association), even after lifting of the restrictive measures imposed by governments, did not open the gates and passed the resolution arbitrarily that all the gates shall remain closed except gate no 1 (opposite Lodhi Gardens)… By such act, the respondent no. 2 has restricted shorter passages for the residents of colonies and general public to various important places such as banks, temples, schools, market centres, post office and Lodhi Garden,” the plea said.

It said there are approximately 1,100 houses and around 3,000-4,000 people residing in BK Dutt Colony, and 3,000 people living in the Lodhi Colony area.

It said the Jorbagh Colony Marg is the shortest route for people going to their office at the Prime Minister’s Office, Rashtrapati Bhawan or ministries through Aurobindo Marg. Due to the restriction, people have to travel a long distance to reach Aurobindo Marg.

The plea further said that the association and other members of the public had met representatives of the Jor Bagh Association, which declined the request for opening at least gate no. 7, following which they approached the high court.