HC asks Delhi Public Library to remove books from its Karol Bagh branch

The Delhi High Court today directed the Delhi Public Library (DPL) to remove hundreds of books from its branch in central Delhi, which is in a dilapidated condition, saying these could get damaged in the monsoon rains.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said most of the books at the DPL branch in the Karol Bagh locality, which was set up in 1954, would be in a "fragile state" due to their repeated use over the years and "need to be preserved".

Funded by the Ministry of Culture, the Delhi Public Library is an autonomous body which has around 45 branches and mobile libraries across Delhi. The first Delhi Public Library was started by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru across the Old Delhi Railway Station in 1951.

The high court directed the DPL to remove the books and asked the owner of the building, whose roof is crumbling, to ensure there is no obstruction and free access to the library staff.

The order came on an application moved by the building's owner for removal of the books to prevent any damage to them due to the onset of monsoon.

The court had on December 6 last asked the library to preserve its books, which are locked up in the premises since November 2016. It had directed the authorities to shift the books, CDs, computers, catalogues and other material lying there to the library's head office or any other safe location.

In April this year, the court had pulled up the library for lack of concern for the books as these had not been removed.

The court was hearing a petition filed by some scholars and journalists, who had moved against the corporations' notices to the library to vacate the premises, claiming that the building was structurally unfit and dangerous.

The library was issued the first notice by the corporation on September 15, 2016 and the second one on November 4, 2017, asking it to vacate so that the building could be demolished.

Seeking quashing of the notices, the petitioners alleged that the building's owner, Dimple Enterprises, "wants a commercial complex in place of the library in order to make money from the land".