Sealing: SC takes umbrage to lack of protection for monitoring panel

The Supreme Court today took umbrage to the lack of police protection to the court-appointed monitoring committee for carrying out sealing drive in Delhi and warned it would be compelled to call the Delhi Police Commissioner for explanation.

The apex court termed it a "very serious thing" and said it cannot let the members of monitoring committee being assaulted for doing their work as mandated by the court.

"Do something about it. The monitoring committee was set up by the Supreme Court," the bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said.

"You please call your police commissioner," the bench orally told advocate Wasim A Qadri, who was appearing in the matter.

Later, Additional Solicitor General A N S Nadkarni appeared before the court and said he had talked to the police commissioner on the issue and he has assured that all security arrangements would be made.

He said police protection was provided to the committee and if intimation was given to the police in advance, all proper arrangements would be put in place.

"The monitoring committee has given its report yesterday only and I had talked to the police commissioner," Nadkarni told the bench while referring to the issue raised by the panel about police protection when it was scheduled to visit Amar Colony in south Delhi for carrying out their work.

The bench, which posted the matter for hearing on April 16, had earlier ordered restoration of its 2006 monitoring committee to identify and seal such offending structures.

The monitoring committee, comprising K J Rao, former advisor to the Election Commissioner, Bhure Lal, chairman of Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, and Major General (Retd) Som Jhingan, was set up on March 24, 2006, by the court.

The top court is hearing arguments on the validity of the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006 and subsequent legislations which protect unauthorised construction from being sealed.