A demolition notice issued to a property in Batla House.
| Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to provide relief sought by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan through a public interest litigation (PIL) plea against the proposed demolitions of “illegal” constructions in Batla House.
A Bench of Justices Girish Kathpalia and Tejas Karia stated that “passing a general order of protection in a PIL plea of this sort was likely to jeopardise the case of individual litigants”. The petitioner’s counsel subsequently sought permission from the court and withdrew the plea.
The court noted that certain aggrieved persons had availed of legal remedies, and many had been granted relief.
The Supreme Court on May 7 had ordered the “DDA to demolish unauthorised structures in khasra number 279”. The land parcel, located along the Muradi Road in Okhla village, is estimated to be around 2.8 bigha (or .702 hectares).
Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, representing Mr. Khan, submitted that the demarcation of the land in question was not done in line with the Supreme Court’s order.
“The DDA, in the garb of a show-cause notice, simply issued a generic notice pasted outside a number of premises that do not even fall in khasra number 279 for which the order was passed by the apex court,” argued Mr. Khurshid.
The DDA’s counsel contended that the PIL was not maintainable in view of the apex court’s specific directions asking only the aggrieved parties to adopt appropriate legal remedies.
The counsel submitted that the DDA notices were not generic, but in compliance with the top court’s direction, granting 15 days’ time to respond.
The court had previously granted status quo to certain properties in the area.
Published – June 12, 2025 01:24 am IST