SOHAN DEVI Vs. KESHAV CHANDRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this order I shall dispose of an application made on behalf of 13 persons under Order 1 rule 10 read with Section 151 CPC for impleadment in the contempt petition and for issuing directions to the respondents not to carry out demolition of the house of the applicants without ascertaining actual location of the property.

(2.) THIS Court in C. W. No. 6936/2000 passed an order dated 8. 8. 2002 directing the respondents to remove encroachment from raasta/public passage comprising in Khasra no. 511, Village Mitrao, New Delhi. Since, this order was not complied with, a contempt petition was filed by the petitioners for removing the encroachment from the public way. Notice of the contempt petition was served upon the respondents. Respondents stated that against the order dated 8. 8. 2002, some persons had preferred an appeal being WA No. 732/2002 and in this appeal initially an order of status quo was passed on 30. 9. 2002 however, the appeal was dismissed vide order dated 23. 3. 2004 Apart from filing appeal the persons, who had filed appeal, also filed Writ Petition (Civil) No. 5852/2003 challenging the order dated 17. 10. 2002 passed by the Financial Commissioner and orders dated 21. 5. 2002 as well as 28. 9. 1984 passed by the Consolidation Officer village, Mitraon, Delhi. The said Writ Petition was also disposed of on 17. 3. 2004 Thereafter, attempts were made to demarcate the land, in question but the same could not be carried out due to circumstances beyond the control of the officers of the respondents. Mr. Satish Kumar, Kannongo of SDM, Punjabi Bagh, district West was then appointed as Local Commissioner vide order dated 3. 12. 2004 to carry out demarcation. The Local Commissioner could not complete demarcation due to technical and physical problems as there were standing crops around the land. The respondents sought some more time to carry out the demarcation and to avoid damage to the adjoining properties and assured that the order would be complied with and encroachment would be removed from public passage of the land in question. This response was filed in the Court in january, 2005 however, the fact remains that the encroachments were not removed and public passage was not cleared. In rejoinder, the petitioners submitted that respondents were intentionally not carrying out the order of the Court despite disclosing to the Court that K. No. 511 of Village Mitraon was a public raasta and property of the Gaon Sabha. It was under illegal encroachment and construction existed on this public raasta. The submissions earlier made in the court show it categorically that the respondents knew the demarcation of khasra no. 511. The bogey of demarcation was now again being raised just to avoid the implementation of order of the Court. It is further submitted that even private respondents in Writ Petition No. 6936/2000 and in Writ Petition No. 5852/2003 had admitted that they had raised construction on the passage and the stand taken by them was that the said pubic passage had been earmarked through their dwelling units built by them in the year 1977. In the Writ Petition 5852/2003 they filed a review application no. 287/2004, in that also, it was admitted that there was encroachment of public passage. It was submitted that the SDM had initiated proceedings under Section 133 Cr. P. C. for removal of encroachment from encroachers. In those proceedings also the SDM passed an order dated 11. 3. 1998 for removal of encroachment by the encroachers. Against the order of SDM, the private respondents had approached the Court of ADJ and the learned ADJ vide order dated 11. 10. 1999 had set aside the order of SDM. Thereafter, the writ petitions were filed by the petitioners before this Court resulting into a direction for removal of encroachment. It is submitted that thus demarcation was well known to the respondents and the respondents were deliberately not implementing the orders passed by the Court. The review filed by the private respondents vide application no. 287/2004 in WP (C) No. 5852/2003 was dismissed by this Court vide order dated 6. 10. 2004 LPA against that order was dismissed by the Court vide order dated 19. 11. 2004 After the passing of order dated 8. 8. 2002 by this Court for removal of encroachment, one Writ Petition No. W. P. (C)-5852/2003, three LPAs No. 732/02, 742/04 and 987/04 and one review petition no. 287/2004 in WPC No. 5852/2003 had been dismissed but still demolition has not been carried out; the petitioner has filed copies of all these orders.

(3.) KEEPING in view the long history of the petition and the fact that the passage falling in khasra no. 511, Village Mitraon, was encroached upon by the various persons, I consider that all excuses taken by the respondents for not implementing the order are false and baseless. The application made by the above 13 persons is another attempt to stall the implementation of the order. All the persons, who made this application, have not come forward with the true and complete facts, as to what was their right. None of them have stated as to what was the khasra number of land in their occupation, how much was the area, how they became owner of land in question, when they constructed the premises and why they constructed premises on khasra no. 511 etc. . The application is even otherwise not maintainable, since it is the case of the respondents that they would carry out the demolition of the encroachment from raasta falling in khasra no. 511, Village Mitraon, Delhi only after demarcation.