QAMRUDDIN Vs. THE COMMISSIONER (MCD) AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) COUNSEL for the parties submit that both these writ petitions can be disposed of by a common order. For the sake of convenience the facts of the Writ Petition No. 5629/2011 are being noticed. As per the petitioner, 132 shops/stalls at F -1/G, Sundar Mandi (Murga Market), Nand Nagri, Delhi were allotted to squatters of EWS categories measuring 6' x 8', under Survey Scheme in the early eighties by the Slump and J.J. Department of the MCD Office of the Deputy Director (SCP), for selling/trading fish, chicken, meat, vegetable, medicine, general store and repair etc.; and 14 persons were allotted shops at Sundar Nagri for sale of chicken/meat/fish remaining 118 allottees were allotted shops for the purposes of other than the above trade. Counsel for the petitioner submits that the entire market is popularly known as "Murga Market" and many allottees in the market had applied for running chicken/meat shops although they were allotted shops for selling vegetable, medicines etc. Option was granted by the MCD for change of use of the shops, so that the licences can be granted to them as well.

(2.) AS per the writ petition under the aforesaid scheme on 24.5.2006 petitioner came in possession of shop No. 117, G -Block, Sunder Nagri, Nand Nagri, Delhi, by virtue of a GPA executed in his favour. Petitioner was using the shop for selling chicken. Similarly, the petitioner in the writ petition No. 5628/2011 came into possession of the shop No. 16, G -Block, Sunder Nagri, Nand Nagri, Delhi, by virtue of GPA and he was also using the said shop for selling chicken. On 1.2.2007 the MCD provided an ad -hoc registration certificate of shops/commercial establishment bearing registration No. 1110036353 in favour of the petitioner under the category of trade of "meat/poultry". The petitioner deposited licence fee of Rs. 1000/ - in cash, a copy of the ad -hoc registration certificate dated 1.2.2007 has been placed on record in both the writ petitions. The petitioners had also applied to the MCD for grant of health trade licence for which registration fee of Rs. 250/ - each was deposited with the object of running a chicken shop from the premises. Copies of the receipts have also been filed by the petitioners.

(3.) ON 4.1.2010 in both the writ petitions the Slum and J.J. Department of MCD issued a letter of regularization with respect to the shops of the petitioners, but no response was received from respondent no. 1 for the issuance of licence. Thereafter representations were also made by petitioners on 12.1.2010 and on 5.8.2010 to the respondent no. 4. The petitioners learnt that the respondents were denying grant of licence on the plea that the shops existed within 50 meters of a place of worship. It is submitted that the shops in Murga Market were allotted for meat trade in the year 1987 and thus, place of worship, if any, could not have been allowed to be constructed, to take away the fundamental rights of the petitioners to carry on their trade and business. Even otherwise, it is submitted that the temple if any was an encroachment on public land and was initially only 8' x 12' and was never at a distance of 50 metres from the shops, or else at the first instance itself a Murga mandi would not have been created.