High Court: Issue three-day notice to farmhouse owners in Raisina village of Gurugram

Saurabh Malik

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 9

Just about a fortnight after the issuance of demolition notices to about 450 persons who allegedly changed the nature of their land from gair mumkin pahad to farmhouses in Raisina village of Gurugram district, the High Court ordered the issuance of three days’ notice.

The HC made it clear that their cases would be decided within seven days. The state counsel undertook before the Bench that the construction raised by the petitioners would not be demolished till a decision was taken.

The orders by Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain and Justice Ashok Kumar Verma came on petition by Sanjay Mittal and other petitioners through counsel Pankaj Jain, challenging the validity of notices dated May 23 and 25 issued on the basis of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order dated October 23, 2018.

The Bench was told that the petitioners were, vide the notices, given seven days to demolish the constructions, stated to be farmhouses, without affording an opportunity of hearing and referring to the replies already filed to the show-cause notices.

Addressing the Bench on the basis of instructions received from the Sohna Municipal Council’s executive engineer, Haryana Additional Advocate General Ankur Mittal submitted that the petitioners would be served three days’ notice for hearing and a decision taken within seven days after hearing all parties.

He informed the court that notices had been issued to 450 entities and persons, who had allegedly changed the nature of their land. Most of them had filed their responses. He added that they would be given three days’ notice and cases decided after hearing them.

Before parting, the Bench clarified that neither the petitioners nor similarly situated persons would try to delay the proceedings going to be initiated by the Sohna Municipal Council for a decision on the show-cause notices.