Signature View: Delhi High Court bars forced eviction of residents

The interim relief was granted by a bench of chief justice DK Upadhyay and justice Tushar Rao Gedela while hearing a plea filed by the apartment owners challenging eviction notices issued by DDA

The Delhi High Court on Thursday restrained the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) from taking coercive action against nine flat owners of the Signature View Apartments in Mukherjee Nagar until August 25.

The flat owners had earlier approached the court seeking protection against forceful eviction in light of their pending legal challenge. (Representative photo)

The interim relief was granted by a bench of chief justice DK Upadhyay and justice Tushar Rao Gedela while hearing a plea filed by the apartment owners challenging eviction notices issued by DDA and the involvement of MCD and Delhi Police to enforce the evacuation. The flat owners had earlier approached the court seeking protection against forceful eviction in light of their pending legal challenge.

Senior advocate Maninder Acharya, appearing for the residents, argued that DDA had begun issuing eviction notices despite the absence of any stay on the appeal filed by the authority against a single judge’s order in December. Acharya informed the bench that while residents were willing to continue occupying the flats at their own risk, the authorities must not resort to coercive measures in the interim.

In a December 2023 ruling, justice Mini Pushkarna had allowed demolition and reconstruction of the buildings, declaring them unsafe for habitation. The court had directed the residents to vacate the premises within three months and ordered DDA to pay rent to all flat owners from the time new flats were handed over. However, Acharya submitted that no rent was being paid to residents who had already vacated, potentially rendering them homeless.

Representing DDA, senior advocate Sanjay Jain, along with advocates Kritika Gupta and Ritika Bansal, argued that MCD’s involvement was essential as the civic body was tasked with executing demolition orders for unsafe buildings under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act. They submitted that DDA was well within its rights to act on the December judgment and proceed with eviction.

The court acknowledged that while the residents are legally bound to vacate the flats as per the earlier ruling, DDA also has a corresponding obligation to comply with its direction regarding rental payments.

“It is also to be noticed that in the instant LPA, no interim order staying the operation of the judgement passed by the single judge has been passed. Accordingly, the occupants of the flats are obligated to vacate the flats. However, DDA simultaneously cannot shirk from its responsibility to follow the mandate... for payment of rent,” the court observed.

The bench clarified that the residents’ continued occupation of the flats until August 25 would be at their own risk and that no liability for any mishap would lie with the authorities. “Though we are not inclined to accede to the prayer of the respondents for issuing a direction to the authorities to not take coercive steps for vacation of the flats, however, a statement has been made... that occupation of these flats till 25 August shall be at their own risk,” the bench said.

It scheduled the next hearing in the matter for August 25.

The court’s order came a day after Justice Pushkarna dismissed a review petition filed by one of the residents seeking reconsideration of her earlier judgment.

The application for relief had been filed by the nine residents in response to DDA’s June 24 eviction notice and a July 14 letter from MCD to the police requesting assistance in clearing the flats.

Signature View Apartments, comprising 336 flats, were constructed by DDA between 2007 and 2010. Concerns regarding structural stability arose within a few years, and a 2023 IIT Delhi report confirmed the buildings were unsafe.