2006 Delhi sealing drive

Last updated

The 2006 Delhi sealing drive was a campaign by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to close (and thus "seal" the locks of) a number of illegal commercial establishments in Delhi, India which lacked authorization. The drive witnessed considerable opposition from trading bodies in the city which led to the deaths of four people in September 2006. It ran until early 2007.

Contents

As of today, the Supreme Court of India has suspended the drive. The new plan envisions a mixed land use policy by which commercial and residential use can be simultaneous. However, the sealing drive in Delhi is very much in progress. Shops and establishments which were registered by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi under 24 specified categories were made to pay various charges though most of them have commercial electricity meters and some have approved commercial water meters. Almost all the shops had VAT registration and the owners were paying income tax through income from these shops. So all the shops which are running from residential areas and were not found on notified roads are being forcibly shut down.

Opposition

Criticism of the government

The government of India has been reprimanded time and again by the courts for failing to conduct the drive properly: for making excuses such as the drive will create law and order problems, and for not proceeding against the big establishments but instead targeting small shops. Apparently the government has a way of solving the issue by putting in force the Delhi Master Plan 2021 which will allow mixed land use and thus make the commercial activity in residential area legal (a law which the court has declared invalid) out of judicial purview, [1] but the government has as yet not given any indication that it plans to do so. This is probably because that would put the government in direct confrontation with the judiciary. One of the allegations put forward is that the government is not taking any initiative to stop the drive in order to promote shopping malls.

Court judgement

Reacting to several PILs, the Supreme Court has repeatedly reprimanded the government for improperly conducting the drive. After the government introduced a law to provide relief to the trading bodies, the court declared it invalid in response to another public interest litigation. [2] The court has also struck down various petitions of the government suspending the drive.

Several traders' unions have argued that the action may have serious economic, social and psychological impact, and accused the government of not providing adequate alternate space required for shops and offices.

Improper conduct allegations against CJI Y.K. Sabharwal

Chief justice of the Supreme Court of India, Y.K. Sabharwal in March 2005 took over the demolition cases although they had not been assigned to him. [3] In 2007, the paper Mid-Day revealed that Sabharwal's two sons Chetan and Nitin operated a real estate firm Pawan Impex, which after languishing for three years, suddenly attracted a 300-fold capitalization from the real-estate major BPTP around the same time that Sabharwal took over this case. As a result of the demolition of many well-established commercial offices across Delhi, the demand for mall spaces skyrocketed. In October 2005, Pawan Impex partnered with the promoters of Filatex India, and they went on to build the new Square One Mall luxury mall in Saket.

In a newspaper rebuttal, Justice Sabharwal addressed some other allegations, but failed to explain why he did not recuse himself from a case where his own sons may be said to have a direct interest. [4]

In September 2007, four Mid-Day journalists were sentenced to four months imprisonment by the Delhi High Court for contempt of court (making such allegations about an ex-judge). [5]

Vitusha Oberoi, an editor at Mid-day, said: "We have said that what we have said is the truth (in their articles relating to former Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal) and that is why we should not be hauled up for contempt." [6]

Timeline of the drive

The demolition and sealing drive was started in February 2006, and ran until early 2007. Some of the major events were as follows: [7] On 16 February 2006, the Delhi High Court sent a notice to the MCD to remove all the commercial ventures in residential areas in the city. On 25 February, after some violent reactions the demolition activities were suspended. During 18 March through 21 March, traders protested the 26 March date for SC hearings and there was a call for a bandh.

On 24 March the SC extended the deadline to 28 March 2006 after seeing the tense situation in the capital. It ordered violating traders to submit affidavits stating that they would shut down their businesses or face action from 29 March. [8] Over 40,000 traders filed the affidavits. [9] On 29 March, under tight security, MCD started sealing the commercial establishments whose owners had failed to file affidavits before the deadline set by the court.

On 25 April, the union urban development minister, Jaipal Reddy, said that the central government would provide a bill concerning regularisation of commercial establishments. MCD announced the end of the sealing drive on 20 May after the central government introduced a bill to suspend the action of municipal authorities. President Kalam gave his assent to the bill to make it law on 21 May, and on 23 May the MCD started desealing shops in the capital.

In response to a petition moved jointly by the Delhi Residents Welfare Associations Front and an NGO Citizens Forum, which alleged that the new legislation was politically motivated in advance of the coming municipal elections, and was illegal, the SC issued notices to the centre and the MCD on 23 May.

The SC termed the new law, which was putting a moratorium on demolitions and sealings in the capital, as invalid on 10 August. The court also ordered the MCD to restart sealing in the capital. The MCD resumed the sealing of shops in residential areas on 1 September, after a gap of three months. The All Delhi Traders Association filed a petition in the SC demanding the implementation of the Delhi Special Provisions Act that suspended the demolitions for a year. The monitoring committee appointed by the SC in consultation with the MCD decided that no day-to-day-need shops would be sealed.

In another effort to avoiding a confrontation with either the judiciary or the protesting trading bodies, the Delhi government's Delhi Development Authority (DDA) made several amendments to the 2001 Delhi Master Plan on 7 September. According to the proposed amendments:

  1. Professionals could use their basements as offices, except in 70 upmarket localities.
  2. MCD or government-recognised pre-primary schools would not be sealed.
  3. Commercial activity would be permitted in Delhi's 350 villages, except polluting or hazardous units.
The amendments however offered no relief to Delhi's upmarket areas.

MCD expanded its sealing drive on 19 September; traders protested at nearly 100 locations across the city. The SC refused to stay the sealing drive. Four people died in police shootings after the bandh called by the traders in Delhi turned violent on 20 September. On 21 September the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into the issues pertaining to sealing in Delhi. The MCD suspended all sealing operations in the capital for the time being, following the violence. It said it wanted more security to carry out the sealing drive.

On 29 September the SC declared that there would be no sealing of shops or commercial establishments till 31 October after which it would resume. The court also asked the owners of the illegal shops to submit affidavits stating that their businesses were being run on illegal premises. The court also clarified that it would not tolerate the government's continued attempts to pass new laws that dilute its orders to remove shops in residential areas.

On 18 October the Supreme Court further extended, till 31 January 2007, the last date for filing of affidavits by traders in the capital who were using residential premises for commercial activities for those who had not done so and thus in a way temporarily postponed the sealing of their shops. Sealing was however not stopped for the 44,000 traders who had already submitted the affidavits. On 25 October the Delhi Traders Association decided to intensify its protests against the sealing drive, which was scheduled to restart from 1 November. On 30 October, the traders started a three-day strike against the sealing drive.

On 31 October the traders tried to resolve the case and meet Jaipal Reddy and Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

On 1 November the centre moved the SC seeking relief for the 44,000 traders in Delhi who were facing sealing. The centre told the Supreme Court's monitoring committee that sealings could not go on because the law and order situation could not be handled. They claimed that protests were threatening to become extremely violent, and could seriously affect the whole city.

On 2 November the SC decided to hear the sealing case on 6 November. The GoM decided not to carry out any sealing operations until 6 November. On 3 November, the MCD approached the SC with a fresh petition asking for an indefinite postponement of sealing, citing the law and order situation. The Delhi Police added that it needed reinforcements to deal with the law and order situation, which it would only have by 6 November.

On 6 November the SC refused to grant any relief to traders from the sealing drive. The court dismissed applications of the Centre, Delhi government and the MCD, seeking relief for the traders. A meeting of the GoM decided that the SC's order on sealing would be implemented. After this statement, traders announced that they would hold a 24-hour bandh in Delhi on 7 November and then decide their future course of action.

On 7 November the traders protested against the Supreme Court's order to resume the sealing drive by holding a one-day strike. On 8 November the MCD restarted the drive amidst protests. 25 companies of paramilitary forces are deployed in New Delhi to assist in sealing drive. On 9 November the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's office was sealed as it was operating from a posh residential colony.

On 27 November the government said that a master plan for Delhi, addressing all of its civic problems, would be finalised by January 2007.ndtv.com

On 4 December traders held a 'Sealing Chetna Week' (Sealing Awareness Week) against the sealing drive. [10]

On 18 December the showrooms of several top designers were sealed in the Ambawata complex mall near Qutub Minar in South Delhi. [11]

On 24 January, the government filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to finish the drive as according to it the decisions passed by the court would become irrelevant once the Delhi Master Plan came into force in February 2007. (The plan allowed mixed land use in various circumstances according to which land can be used both for commercial and residential purposes.) [12]

On 31 January thousands of traders filed affidavits that they would abide by the court's verdict as demanded by the SC even as the government claimed that the soon to be notified Delhi Master Plan would finish off the drive. The new Master Plan allowed far more liberal guidelines for construction and commercial development. Shops on streets across Delhi, that were forced to shut down, would have the right to reopen if they could provide parking. Under the new Masterplan, an extra floor could be added and the landlord could rent out each floor if he provided parking of two cars. Fifty per cent of the house could be used for an office and so could the basement. [13]

On 7 February, confusion prevailed on the issue as the government said that due to the provisions in the Master Plan there was no need for sealing. The SC appointed monitoring committee had demanded that sealing should continue. [14] On 8 February the Delhi Master Plan was notified which identified a mixed land use policy according to which shops on over 2000 roads could function. The SC said that sealing should be suspended until 12 February. [15] On 9 February an NGO, The Delhi Pradesh Citizen Council, challenged the Masterplan in the Supreme Court saying that it is a move only to appease the traders ahead of incoming municipal elections. [16] On 13 February the Supreme Court stayed the sealing of commercial establishments in residential areas on 2,183 roads covered by the Master Plan Delhi-2021 until the issuing of further orders. [17]

Notes

  1. ↑ Venkatesan, J. "IX Schedule has outlived its purpose: Nariman". The Hindu (hinduonnet.com). Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ↑ www.ndtv.com Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Prashant Bhushan (19 September 2007). "Contempt of Judicial Power". Outlook. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
  4. ↑ Justice Y.K. Sabharwal (2 September 2007). "A former Chief Justice of India defends his honour". Times of India Delhi. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
  5. ↑ "4 journos get jail term for scandalising ex-CJI". CNN-IBN. 21 September 2007. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
  6. ↑ "We have taken truth to be our defence: Vitusha Oberoi". The Hindu . 21 September 2007. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2007.
  7. ↑ ndtv.com Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ www.hinduonnet.com [Usurped!]
  9. ↑ Legal Correspondent. "Delhi Corporation moves apex court". The Hindu (hinduonnet.com). Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ↑ ndtv.com Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ ndtv.com Archived 26 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ ndtv.com Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ ndtv.com Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ ndtv.com Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ ndtv.com Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ ndtv.com Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ↑ Legal Correspondent (13 February 2007). "Sealing stayed until further orders". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 16 February 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2011.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Court of India</span> Highest constitutional body in India

The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judicial authority and the highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in. It also has the power of judicial review. The Supreme Court, which consists of the Chief Justice of India and a maximum of fellow 33 judges, has extensive powers in the form of original, appellate and advisory jurisdictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal</span> 36th Chief Justice of India

Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal was the 36th Chief Justice of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Indian anti-reservation protests</span> Protest in India against reservation for OBCs

The 2006 Indian anti-reservation protests were a series of protests that took place in India in 2006 in opposition to the decision of the Union Government of India, led by the Indian National Congress-headed multiparty coalition United Progressive Alliance, to implement reservations for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in central and private institutes of higher education. These protests were one of the two major protests against the Indian reservation system, the other one being the 1990 anti-Mandal protests.

Dwarka is a neighbourhood located in South West Delhi district of Delhi. The district court that functions under the Delhi High Court for South West Delhi is located in Dwarka.

The Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case is a criminal case in the Gujarat state after the death of Sohrabuddin Anwarhussain Sheikh on November 26, 2005. A special CBI court acquitted all the 22 accused in the case in the alleged encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manoj Tiwari (politician)</span> Indian politician, singer and actor

Manoj Kumar Tiwari is an Indian politician, singer and actor serving as a Member of Parliament from North East Delhi. He contested the 2009 general election as a Samajwadi Party candidate from Gorakhpur Lok Sabha but lost to Yogi Adityanath. Again, he contested 2014 Indian general elections as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate and won. He was appointed as Delhi BJP president in 2016. He was the head of the BJP organisation in Delhi when the party recorded a record victory in 2017 MCD elections. He was a contestant in Bigg Boss season 4.

Unitech Limited is an Indian real estate investment company headquartered in New Delhi, and once claimed to be the largest real estate builder in the country.

Yamuna Pushta is the Pushta (embankment) on both sides of the Yamuna River in Delhi, starting from the ITO bridge and up to the Salimgarh Fort. It has also been home to riverbed cultivators, and over 100,000 residents a string of slum colonies (shantytown) for some 40 years, mostly on the western banks, like those near the Nigambodh Ghat near Old Delhi and a few on the eastern banks like those near Sakarpur village in East Delhi. Many of these slums were being demolished in 2004, after court orders which were part of the beautification drive of the Government ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games and for creating a "green belt".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demolition of the Babri Masjid</span> 1992 religious riot in India

The demolition of the Babri Masjid was carried out on 6 December 1992 by a large group of activists of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and allied organisations. The 16th-century Babri Masjid in the city of Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh, India, had been the subject of a lengthy socio-political dispute, and was targeted after a political rally organised by Hindu nationalist organisations turned violent.

The 2G spectrum case was a political controversy in which politicians and private officials of the United Progressive Alliance coalition government India were allegedly involved in selling or allotting 122 2G spectrum licenses on conditions that provided an advantage to specific telecom operators. A. Raja, then Telecom Minister, was accused of selling 2G spectrum licenses at a very low cost which resulted in the loss of ₹1,760 billion in government revenue. Raja was also accused of not following rules and regulations as well as not recognizing any advice from the Ministries of Finance and Law and Justice of India while allotting 2G spectrum licenses to telecom operators. Series of allegations were made on allotting 2G spectrum licenses including allegations from Central Bureau of Investigation after investigating the case alleging Raja for intentionally advancing the cut-off date to favour some specific firms, which were allegedly ineligible for applying for telecom licenses, in return for bribes.

Sanjiv Bhatt is a former Indian Police Service officer of the Gujarat-cadre. He is known for his role in filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court of India against the then Chief Minister of the Government of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, concerning Modi's alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. He claimed to have attended a meeting, during which Modi allegedly asked top police officials to let Hindus vent their anger against the Muslims. However, the Special Investigation Team appointed by the Supreme Court of India concluded that Bhatt did not attend any such meeting, and dismissed his allegations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somnath Bharti</span> Indian lawyer

Somnath Bharti is an Indian lawyer who has become a politician representing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). As a lawyer, he practised at the Supreme Court of India and Delhi High Court. He was elected as the AAP candidate for the Malviya Nagar constituency in the 2013 Delhi state assembly elections and was Minister of Law, Tourism, Administrative Reforms, Art & Culture in the Government of Delhi, from 28 December 2013 to 14 February 2014, at which time the AAP government resigned. He has served as MLA from Malviya Nagar Constituency from February 2015 - February 2020. He served as Chairman, Committee on Privileges of Delhi Legislative Assembly for the year 2016–17. On 10 August 2018, Delhi Legislative Assembly appointed him as chairman, Committee to examine the Stray Dog and Monkey Menace in Delhi. He won the 2020 Delhi Elections by 18,144 votes. By Delhi Legislative Assembly he was appointed Chairman, Public Accounts Committee, Chairman, House Committee on Violation of Protocol Norms and Contemptuous Behaviour By Government Officers with MLAs, Members of Standing Committee on Education and Committee on Govt Undertakings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durga Shakti Nagpal</span> Indian bureaucrat (born 1985)

Durga Shakti Nagpal is an Indian bureaucrat, civil servant and officer in the Uttar Pradesh cadre of the Indian Administrative Service. She came into public view after launching a massive drive against corruption and illegal sand mining within her jurisdiction of Gautam Budh Nagar. She was later suspended by the Uttar Pradesh government for allegedly demolishing an illegal mosque wall in a village in Greater Noida, which resulted in severe opposition as it was perceived to be based on flimsy grounds. There was a growing demand from various political parties, associations of Indian bureaucrats, and by the general public on online social media for her suspension to be revoked. Her suspension was revoked by the Uttar Pradesh government on 22 September 2013.

Satbir Singh is a former mayor of Delhi and is affiliated to the Indian National Congress. Born and brought up in Mehrauli, he had previously served as the Municipal Councillor of Mehrauli constituency for three consecutive terms.

<i>Suresh Kumar Koushal v. Naz Foundation</i> Indian LGBT Rights Case

Suresh Kumar Koushal &Anr. v. NAZ Foundation &Ors.(2013) is a case in which a 2 judge Supreme Court bench consisting of G. S. Singhvi and S. J. Mukhopadhaya overturned the Delhi High Court case Naz Foundation v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi and reinstated Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The Supreme Court of India decided to revisit this judgement after several curative petitions were filed against it, in 2017. Thereby in 2018, Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India, a 5 judge bench of the Supreme Court overturned this judgement, decriminalizing homosexuality. But portions of Section 377 relating to sex with minors, non-consensual sexual acts such as rape, and bestiality remain in force.

Anu Malhotra is a former Judge of the Delhi High Court. She has decided a number of key cases relating to freedom of expression, education, governance, and criminal law in India, including a widely reported ban on the publication of a book about businessman and yoga teacher Ramdev, a case concerning poll campaigns by sitting Members of Parliament, and several public interest petitions filed against municipal corporations regarding infrastructure and governance in Delhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B. V. Nagarathna</span> Judge of Supreme Court of India

Bangalore Venkataramiah Nagarathna is a judge of Supreme Court of India. She served as a judge of the Karnataka High Court from 2008 to 2021. Her father, E. S. Venkataramiah, was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Indian farmers' Republic Day protest</span> Part of Indian farmers Protest

The 2021 Farmers' Republic Day protest was a protest on 26 January 2021 at Delhi. Part of the 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest, it turned violent when a group of protestors deviated from the parade to storm the Red Fort. The protest took place on the 72nd Republic Day against the decision by Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to implement three farm acts.

In December 2021, a dharma sansad of Hindu ascetics was held at Haridwar in Uttarakhand, India, where hate speeches were delivered in which the speakers called for a genocide against Muslims in the name of protecting Hinduism. The government's apathy in the face of the hate event has been condemned by a wide cross section of Indian society, including retired military leaders, civil society activists, students, academics, and retired judges.

The Apex Tower and Ceyane Tower, colloquially referred to as the Noida Supertech Twin Towers, were incomplete residential buildings in Sector-93A, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. The towers were part of real estate company Supertech Limited's Emerald Court residential complex. The Supreme Court of India upheld the original decision by the Allahabad High Court and ordered the buildings' demolition on 31 August 2021. They are the tallest structures in India to be voluntarily demolished.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.