Submit details of sealing process, Delhi HC tells panel

A bench of Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Sanjeev Narula said the monitoring committee should state on the affidavit whether it followed all requisite steps for sealing and if it did not, then explain why.

The Delhi High Court has directed the Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee on sealing to file an affidavit with details of the process they follow before and after sealing a premises.

File photo of a sealed premises at Defence colony market, in New Delhi. (Amal KS/HT File)

A bench of Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Sanjeev Narula said the monitoring committee should state on the affidavit whether it followed all requisite steps for sealing and if it did not, then explain why.

The court’s direction came on an appeal filed by Daily Bread Bakers, an industrial unit in south Delhi’s Vasant Kunj, which was sealed by the SC’s monitoring committee on January 5, 2018.

The petitioners challenged the order of a single judge who rejected their plea against the sealing.

Stating that the order of the single judge cannot be sustained, the high court set it aside on the grounds that the Supreme Court had not given any directions regarding industrial units.

The court asked the committee to file on affidavit whether it had prepared any written note on the information received about the alleged misuse of a premises and on what basis they decided to proceed with sealing.

It sought to know whether the committee prepared any note after sealing.

The bench asked the panel if there were independent witnesses whose signatures were taken on the written proceedings of sealing.

When the committee said it might to be able to answer the queries only after accessing the records of the municipal corporations and the Delhi Development Authority, the court said, “…..since the monitoring committee has been undertaking sealing action for the last 12 years, it should be able to answer most of the questions.

The matter will be heard on January 23.