Chief Justice-led bench stays order on judicial panel

In an unusual order, a bench headed by Chief Justice (CJ) of the Delhi high court (HC) Dipak Misra has stayed the direction of a single judge bench of the court for setting up a judicial panel.

In an unusual order, a bench headed by Chief Justice of the Delhi high court Dipak Misra has stayed the direction of a single judge bench of the court for setting up a judicial panel.

HT Image

The panel was to ensure construction of high quality roads in the Capital.

The order was issued ‘suo motu’. Justice Misra was prima-facie of the view that the single judge’s order was in the realm of public interest litigation and could not have been passed in a bail application.

The panel was to be headed by a former judge of the court Justice Rekha Sharma, who had retired on July 29 this year. Retired Additional Sessions Judge Dinesh Dayal was to work as its registrar.

Justice Gambhir had fixed an honorarium of Rs 50,000 per sitting for Justice Rekha Sharma while Dayal was to get Rs 25,000 per sitting of the panel. The expense was to be borne by MCD.

As per the order issued by justice Kailash Gambhir on September 11, the judges were to undertake the task of bringing authorities of MCD, NDMC, PWD and DJB together to plan out a “time-bound programme for the construction of high quality roads of international standard... (with) longer life along with proper maintenance and instant repair...”.

The single judge bench had issued the directions while hearing the bail plea of road contractor Rakesh Tyagi, against whom the police has filed an FIR related to corruption on a complaint filed by a resident welfare association in Old Rajender Nagar.

Stating that promises of making better roads have “gone down the potholes”, as was witnessed during the monsoon, justice Gambhir ordered the MCD, NDMC and PWD to conduct a survey of all roads in the city by mid-November and submit reports to the committee.

Justice Misra also recorded the statement of MCD lawyer Maninder Acharya that the civic agency will also be filing an appeal against the single judge’s order.