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Delhi HC refuses to stay demolition of apartments in Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar
The court directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to pay rent to the residents, a 10% annual increment, as long as they get the reconstructed flats
The Delhi high court on Wednesday refused to stay the demolition of the Signature View Apartments (SVA) and asked over 100 families residing there in Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar to vacate until October 12.
A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to pay rent to the residents, a 10% annual increment, as long as they get the reconstructed flats. It asked the DDA to establish a camp office within the SVA premises to assist residents with documentation and other formalities related to the vacating and handing over of their flats within two days.
The court permitted residents to take their belongings, including bathroom fittings and electrical items. It asked the DDA to undertake the demolition, causing minimum inconvenience. “...the stay of the residents for any period under this order shall be at their own risks... for the reasons already assigned in our earlier order dated 7th August.”
The court asked DDA’s staff to help with the vacation and not insist on minor details. A detailed copy of the verdict was awaited.
The order was passed in DDA’s petition challenging a single judge’s December order rejecting the agency’s proposal of constructing 168 additional flats by using an enhanced floor area ratio. It had approved the demolition and reconstruction of the towers, saying that the building was dangerous and unsafe for habitation. The court had directed the residents to vacate the flats within three months.
The residents submitted that they were ready to vacate the flats but urged the court to restrain the DDA from demolishing the structure and floating tenders for its demolition and reconstruction. DDA’s counsel, Sanjay Jain, urged the court to pass an order to vacate the flats, in compliance with the single judge’s December ruling.
The same bench also rejected a petition of one of the residents challenging Justice Mini Pushkarna’s August 6 order, dismissing the application seeking review of the December ruling.
The 336 flats were constructed between 2007 and 2010. Their structural safety raised concerns after a few years of allocation. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi in 2023 issued the demolition orders, calling them structurally unsafe based on an Indian Institute of Technology Delhi report.
