The ruling has come in an attempt to arrest the practice of encroachment and unauthorised construction by builders and the land mafia in connivance with bureaucrats and politicians.
The Supreme Court has ruled that ‘notings’ by ministers in favour of encroachers must be notified, otherwise they remain illegal and construction on government land earmarked for public purposes can be razed at any point of time.
The ruling has come in an attempt to arrest the practice of encroachment and unauthorised construction by builders and the land mafia in connivance with bureaucrats and politicians.
A bench of justice BN Agrawal and justice GS Singhvi said on Wednesday: “We hold that the notings recorded in the official files by officers at different levels and even ministers do not become decisions of the government unless the same [are] sanctified and acted upon by issuing an order in the name of the president or governor, as the case may be, authenticated in the manner provided in articles 77(2) and 166(2) and communicated to the affected persons.
“The notings and/or decisions recorded in the file do not confer any right or adversely affect the right of any person and the same can neither be challenged in a court nor made basis for seeking relief,’’ the bench said, explaining that the notings have no legal sanctity.
Dismissing an appeal filed by Shanti Sports Club, built on government land in Delhi’s posh Mehrauli area and used for commercial activities like embassy parties, marriages, and receptions, the court said: “Even if the competent authority records noting in the file, which indicates that some decision has been taken by the concerned authority, the same can always be reviewed by the same authority or reversed or overturned or overruled by higher functionary/authority in the government.
“Economically affluent people and those having support of the political and executive apparatus of the state have constructed buildings, commercial complexes, multiplexes, malls, etc in blatant violation of municipal and town planning laws, master plans, zonal development plans, and even the sanctioned building plans,’’ the court observed. “In most cases of illegal or unauthorised constructions, officers of municipal and other regulatory bodies turn a blind eye either due to the influence of higher functionaries of the state or other extraneous reasons.”
The court said it was high time the state stopped supporting the lobbies of builders and the affluent. “Else, even the rural areas of the country will soon witness similar chaotic conditions,” the judges said.
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