Parking inside societies: Ensure path ways are clear, says HC

Residents of housing societies, while parking vehicles inside, have to ensure free passage to emergency vehicles like fire tenders and ambulances and for security of other residents, Delhi High Court said today.
A bench of justices Gita Mittal and I S Mehta also said that parking of a vehicle in an open area rendered that area unusable by others and even "transient parking" in any open area amounted to encroachment.
"It is thus essential to ensure circulation space, in the nature of path ways in the society, is kept free and vacant at all points of time for the security of members of the society and to ensure access to emergency vehicles including fire tenders, ambulances and police vehicles at all points of time," the court said.

It made the observation while dismissing the plea of a man challenging the charges levied on him by his society for parking three of his cars inside the society, though he had licence to park only one inside the basement.
"So long as a vehicle is parked on the open area, no one else can use it for any purpose. Therefore even transient parking of any open areas beyond the basement is certainly encroachment, albeit temporary, and cannot be treated as anything else," the bench also said in a 33-page verdict.
It also said the society did not have the authority to change the sanctioned plan or permit change of use of any portion of the plot it exists on.

"The society has no authority at all to effect any changes in the sanctioned building plan or permit change of user of any portion of the plot especially the circulation and the open areas which would tantamount to variation of the building bye-laws," it said.
The court also imposed costs of Rs 1,00,000 on the petitioner, Anup Mittal, for wasting "valuable judicial time".