The Delhi High Court has asked the municipal corporation to remove all encroachments from public land in the capital, without giving any prior notice.
“The MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) has right to remove encroachments from public land without any notice,” Justice S.N. Dhingra said Friday.
“No notice is required where encroachment of roads, public land and public ways is done. Such encroachment should be removed forthwith and any person who claims any right must have title deed and present it to the court before he is given hearing.”
The court was hearing a case of people who had encroached on a public land and were not vacating it. After the order, MCD removed the encroachment.
MCD submitted photographs showing the road has been restored to its original condition and showing a motorway had been created.
Turning down the submission of the encroachers, the court said: “I am not prepared to hear on behalf of the objectors as no title deed of any of the objectors in respect of the land in question has been placed on record in this petition.”
“Without their being any title over the land, I consider no person is to be heard in respect of encroachments made on public ways,” the court said in its order while asking the MCD to file a compliance report by April 14.
The court was hearing the contempt petition alleging that MCD was not abiding the court’s previous order of widening the road in Vishnu Garden area of Najafgarh Road in west Delhi.
A division bench of the court had ordered MCD to widen the roads in that area but after protests from the residents and shopkeepers, MCD did not take any action.
