Delhi sealing: SC to hear validity of legislation in February

The Supreme Court today said that issues related to validity of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006 and subsequent legislations, which protect unauthorised constructions from being sealed in the national capital, would be heard in February next year.

A bench comprising justices Madan B Lokur, S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta told Additional Solicitor General A N S Nadkarni, appearing for the Centre, that the matter would be heard next year.

Nadkarni and senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the sealing matter, said that the other related issues in the case should be heard by the bench.

Kumar told the court that the apex court had earlier transferred to itself the matters related to sealing which were pending in the Delhi High Court.

"We had made a mistake," Justice Lokur observed.

Nadkarni requested the bench that arguments on validity of the legislation could be heard in February but in the meantime, the court should hear the other issues including that of the monitoring committee and the special task force.

The apex court had on July 18 said that there would be "no stopping of sealing or demolition" of unauthorised constructions in Delhi after the Centre had said it had not given any instructions to the civic bodies to go slow or stop the sealing drive against offending structures.

It had also said that construction activity should be stopped with "immediate effect" wherever any unauthorised construction was noticed or booked by authorities concerned in the national capital.

It had asked the special task force (STF), constituted on April 25 following the court's order to oversee enforcement of laws on illegal constructions here, to explore the feasibility of "digital mapping" of Delhi with assistance from National Informatics Centre or the Indian Space Research Organisation.

Digital mapping is a process of collecting data which is compiled into virtual image and gives accurate details of a particular area.