SC rejects plea to de-seal commercial premises at New Rajinder Nagar

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an application seeking de-sealing of a commercial premises at New Rajinder Nagar Market in the national capital.

A Bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran passed the order in the long-running environmental PIL filed by MC Mehta in 1985.

Justice Chandran, who authored the order, rejected the de-sealing plea, but directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to issue a fresh inspection notice, identify non-compoundable violations, and specify conversion and penalty charges.

The applicant may regularise the premises by removing illegal constructions and paying requisite charges to use upper floors commercially, the court said.

The applicant relied on a December 18, 2023 order of a judicial committee to claim that the property was intended for full commercial use.

The court held that New Rajinder Nagar was a “shop-cum-residence” local shopping centre and only the ground floor was permitted for commercial use unless conversion charges were paid.

“On a broad overview of the documents produced by the applicant with respect to Shop no... in New Rajinder Nagar Market, we find that the lease and the subsequent freehold rights granted permits only the ground floor to be used as a commercial area. The applicant contends that the first floor was built by his predecessor-in-interest and used as a commercial area, there is nothing produced to establish the same,” it said.

The Bench noted that sanctioned plans from 2005 showed the upper floors as residential and that the applicant had merged the property with an adjoining plot and carried out unauthorised construction.

“We find the New Rajinder Nagar Market to be a shop-cum-residence LSC as designated in the MPD-2021. The FAR of the building is already constructed, with the upper floors further fortifying the contention of the MCD that over the shop residential spaces were constructed, since the FAR sanctioned exceeds that for commercial spaces. The upper floors, though eligible for conversion, can happen only with payment of the conversion charges,” it said.

It held that the judicial committee’s observations were general and did not grant individual rights to de-seal the premises.

“However, we direct the MCD to issue a further notice for inspection which shall be jointly done and the violations intimated by a written order specifically pointing out the non-compoundable constructions. The order shall also indicate the conversion charges payable for the upper floors and the penalty charges for regularisation of excess FAR from that sanctioned,” it said.

The applicant would be entitled to comply with the order passed removing the non-compoundable constructions or projections and depositing the conversion charges as also the penalty charges for regularisation of the excess FAR so as to carry out commercial activities in the upper floors, it said.

The dispute pertained to a plot and the building situated in New Rajinder Nagar Market and the de-sealing of the ‘commercial premises’ was sought.