High Court revives contempt petition

Just over five years after the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered keeping in abeyance a slew of orders, including the demolition of constructions in the Sukhna Lake’s catchment area, a Division Bench today virtually revived the matter.

The Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry made it clear that it would be appropriate to expedite the hearing of a contempt petition filed in the matter last year and also the review petition.

The directions to keep the demolition order in abeyance was passed way back in 2020 by a Division Bench, while taking up the review petition. The Bench has already ordered a panel of technical experts to initially determine whether the High Court campus overlapped the Sukhna catchment area.

The development is significant as the HC order on demolishing the construction in the area could potentially affect the court’s own premises and its expansion plans. Ever since the passing of the order in March 2020, concerns were raised that its new wing might be a part of the catchment. The issue was brought to the court’s notice this morning as well.

The “original” High Court building was set up in 1954-55, before the man-made lake came into being. Since the lake was not in existence at the time of the High Court’s construction, there was neither catchment area, nor any possible violations of rules. But the new wing, comprising an auditorium and other structures, came into existence much later, definitely much after the construction of the lake.

“As to whether the High Court campus lies within the catchment area as per the Survey of India Map dated September 21, 2004, becomes relevant to the issue involved and, therefore, physical demarcation of the said catchment area of Sukhna Lake is required to be completed at the earliest,” the Bench had asserted.

Earlier, the Bench had observed a relevant aspect in the present case was whether the HC campus came within the catchment area.

The contempt petition was, meanwhile, filed by Kansal Enclave Residence Welfare Association. It was alleged that in terms of order dated December 18, 2020, passed in the review plea, “no housing colonies or building activities of any kind could take place in the ‘catchment area’ (either within the forest area or the agricultural area) falling within the jurisdiction of the two States of Punjab and Haryana in terms of the map prepared by the Survey of India”.

It was alleged that construction activities were, however, “rampantly going on in the ‘catchment area’ and no action is being taken by the respondents despite the e-mails and representations sent to them in this regard”.