NEW DELHI: On Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed a request to de-seal a commercial property located in New Rajinder Nagar Market, Delhi.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran issued the order in response to a longstanding environmental public interest litigation (PIL) initiated by MC Mehta in 1985.
Justice Chandran, authoring the judgment, rejected the de-sealing request but ordered the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to conduct a new inspection, identify any non-compoundable violations, and outline conversion and penalty fees.
The court indicated that the applicant could regularize the property by eliminating illegal constructions and paying the necessary fees to utilize upper floors for commercial purposes.
The applicant cited a decree from a judicial committee dated December 18, 2023, asserting that the property was meant for complete commercial use.
The court clarified that New Rajinder Nagar serves as a “shop-cum-residence” local shopping center, permitting commercial use only on the ground floor unless conversion fees are paid.
“Upon reviewing the documents submitted regarding Shop no… in New Rajinder Nagar Market, we find that the lease and subsequent freehold rights only authorize the ground floor for commercial activity. Though the applicant claims that the first floor was constructed by a previous owner for commercial use, no substantial evidence was provided,” the court stated.
The bench observed that approved plans from 2005 labeled the upper floors as residential, noting the applicant’s merger with an adjacent plot that involved unauthorized construction.
“The New Rajinder Nagar Market is designated as a shop-cum-residence local shopping center, as specified in the MPD-2021. The building’s total floor area ratio (FAR) has already been fully utilized, with the upper floors further reinforcing the MCD’s argument about residential spaces being built above commercial areas. While the upper floors can be converted, this requires the payment of conversion fees,” the judgment explained.
The court asserted that the judicial committee’s remarks were general and did not confer individual rights to de-seal the property.
“Nevertheless, we instruct the MCD to issue a new inspection notice, which should be conducted collaboratively, reporting any non-compoundable constructions through a written order. This order must also specify the conversion and penalty fees applicable for regularizing excess FAR,” the court said.
The applicant is expected to comply with the order by rectifying non-compoundable constructions or projections and settling the required conversion and penalty fees for the excess FAR to carry out commercial activities on upper floors.
The ongoing dispute involves a plot and building in New Rajinder Nagar Market, with a request for de-sealing the ‘commercial premises’.
