No contempt of court on BRT: Govt

The government denies defiance of court orders, accuses petitioner of distorting orders by his ‘whimsical interpretation’.

The Delhi government on Wednesday told the Delhi high court hearing the BRT row that it had allowed other vehicles to ply on the corridor earmarked for buses from Moolchand to Ambedkar Nagar till the court took a final stand.

The court was hearing a plea filed by PIL petitioner Col BB Sharan seeking initiation of contempt of court proceedings against the government for defying its orders.

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“The petition ought to be dismissed as there was no defiance of court orders and they had been followed in its letter and spirit,” the government said in a reply filed to the petition through senior lawyer KTS Tulsi.

The government accused Sharan of distorting the court’s orders by using his whimsical interpretation of it.

A bench headed by acting chief justice AK Sikri, however, said that “it will take serious note” if government was not complying with its orders.

Tulsi said the court had asked the government’s transport department to allow all other vehicles to also ply on the space earmarked for buses, which was being done.

“The court never directed the government to remove the barricades,” the government said in its reply.

The government also sought to remind the court that Sharan had in May removed the barricades when neither the court nor the Central Road Research Institute had authorised him to do it. Sharan’s NGO, Nyaybhoomi, had filed the contempt petition against Delhi chief secretary PK Tripathi and transport commissioner R Chandra Mohan.

The PIL demanded either scrapping of the project for the chaos it caused or allowing other vehicles on the exclusive bus lane.