“It Has Become Fashionable…”: Court Awards Compensation After Authorities Demolish Houses (representative image)
Madhya Pradesh High Court has awarded Rs 1 lakh compensation to each two persons who claimed that their house was illegally demolished by Municipal authorities in Ujjain.
In an order dated on February 1, Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court said: “As observed by this court, it has become fashionable now for local administration and local bodies to demolish any house by drawing up proceeding without complying with the Principles of Natural Justice and publish it in the newspaper,” The Print reports.
The Indore bench of justice Vivek Rusia, along with awarding compensation to petitioners, it has announced the Commissioner of Ujjain Municipal Corporation (UMC) to start disciplinary action against officials for preparing fake panchnama, i.e., documents comprising the proceedings of searches and seizures. Besides, the Court gave liberty to the petitioner to approach a civil court to ascertain actual compensation for their losses. The Court response came while hearing a writ petition filed by Radha Langri, wife of Rahul Langri, and his mother Vimla Gurjar, on January 6, 2023.
In their petition, the two claimed that house numbers 467 and 556, located in Ujjain’s Sandipani Nagar, were purchased by Radha in 2019 and 2020, while Vimla had purchased house numbers 525, 526 and 527 in the same locality. Rahul Nagri had purchased house number 466 in the same locality, The Print reports.
The petitioners then argued that Vimla was given demolition notices for house numbers 525, 526 and 527. When Vimla approached civil court against the demolition on December 12, 2022, a status quo was awarded on the same day.
However, according to Radha”s petition, on December 13, the next day, the Ujjain municipal commissioner and building officer of Zone 5 in the municipality tore down house numbers 466 and 467, without giving any prior notice. Both are owned by Rahul and his wife, Radha, respectively.
Meanwhile, Municipal authorities claim that the two houses were found to have been in violation of the provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1956.
“Since I have recently taken charge as the commissioner, I’m not aware of the nitty-gritties of the case. We have received the order and our legal team is reviewing it. Once we have a clear response, we will proceed accordingly and take the necessary legal course,” Ujjain Municipal Commissioner Ashish Pathak told The Print.
Referring the order copy, Rishi Tiwari, advocate representing for the municipality argued that as the said houses did not obtain building permissions before the constructions, “therefore the same has been rightfully demolished.”
Continuing further, he said that though a notice was issued on October 12, 2022, but even after two months no reply was submitted, and the petitioners were not recorded as the owners of the said houses.
Besides, advocate claimed that house numbers 525, 526 and 527 (owned by Vimla) have built without permissions and are an “encroachment” on the land. Following, a notice under section 307 of the Municipal Act was served, he added.
(With inputs from The Print)
