SANJEEV BHATIANI Vs. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is the occupant of the property bearing number III/I/2E, Shastri Bazar, Delhi Cantt-10 which is situated in Delhi cantonment area and is therefore governed by the Cantonment Act, 2006. Vide notice dated 13.7.2012, the Chief Executive Officer of Delhi Cantonment, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sub section (1) of Section 248 of the Cantonment Act, 2006, directed the petitioner to stop erection/re-erection in the aforesaid property and also directed that the erection completed by him should be demolished within 30 days from the receipt of the said notice. The following was the erection / re-erection in the aforesaid property:

(2.) THIS notice issued to the petitioner was followed by subsequent notices dated 16.7.2012, 23.7.2012, 8.8.2012, 22.8.2012, 27.8.2012, 3.9.2012 and 14.9.2012. The construction impugned in the aforesaid notices reads as under:

(3.) THE contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that the notice issued to the petitioner from time to time are illegal, the same having been issued without following the principles of natural justice since no show cause was given to the petitioner before directing him to stop erection and demolishing the construction mentioned in the notice. In my view, the petitioner cannot avail two remedies simultaneously, one by way of a statutory appeal and the other by way of a writ petition. The petitioner having preferred a statutory appeal before filing of the writ petition, it was not opened to him to challenge the notice issued to him by Chief Executive Officer of the Cantonment Board in this writ petition. It is very much open to the petitioner to inter alia plead before the Appellate Authority that the notice issued to him is bad in law since no prior show cause notice was given to him.