DB directs CEO PDA to file report

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 24: In a PIL filed by a hotelier Harcharan Singh seeking demolition of the illegal/ unauthorized buildings raised in green buffer areas of Patnitop, Division Bench of the State High Court comprising Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Sindhu Sharma has directed the Chief Executive Officer, Patnitop Development Authority (PDA) to file a comprehensive status report pinpointing the violations on spot following physical verification as also on the basis of relevant records of the concerned departments.
Those violations, which have already been noticed and which are sub-judice either before the Tribunal or before this court have already been placed on record along with the CEO’s status report dated October 20, 2018, therefore, the same may not be repeated, the DB further directed.
When the PIL came up for hearing, Advocates Rahul Pant and Amit Bhardwaj appearing on behalf of the petitioner submitted that certain hotels like Green Top and one building constructed by Ashwani Kumar Sharma, who is stated to be an Engineer working in the PDA, are in violation of the Regulations concerned without there being any action against them.
The Division Bench taking note of the submissions made by Advocates directed that the status report of the CEO PDA shall also reflect the details with regard to the violations, if any, in this regard as also others, which the CEO might notice during scrutiny.
At this stage, Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed intervened and submitted in the open court that the instant PIL is an abuse of process of law as the petitioner is not a credible person and the petitioner and his family members are in the habit of filing writ petitions/complaints against the hotel owners at various forums with oblique motives who are in competition with them and after striking compromise deals the cases are withdrawn against their rivals.
He vociferously argued that the wife of the petitioner Inderjeet Kour who is the owner of Hotel Maharaja Resorts in Patnitop had filed two writ petitions (one OWP No.963/2012 and another OWP No.1124/2009) in Jammu Wing of the High Court against one Shakuntala Kotwal, wife of late Omkar Kotwal, owner of Hotel Trinetra highlighting alleged violations in the construction of Hotel Trinetra and subsequently the petitioner’s wife entered into a written agreement/compromise with Shakuntala Kotwal and agreed to withdraw both the writ petitions.
“The petitioner and his wife are habitual complainants and the petitioner himself has indulged in major violations while constructing his own hotel under the name and style of Krystal comprised in Khasra No.204 situated at Karlah Near Nag Mandir Patnitop and the major violations were reportedly compounded by J&K Special Tribunal”, Advocate Ahmed further submitted, adding “petitioner himself has reportedly encroached State/Kah Charai land as he is stated to be owner of 5 Marlas of land but on spot he possesses land more than 5 Marlas and because of terror of the petitioner the PDA has failed to take action against him”.
He again submitted that those approaching the High Court in public interest must come with clean hands/clean heart but in the instant case the petitioner has suppressed vital facts and has not disclosed his questionable credentials.
Advocate Ahmed said that so called violations made by hoteliers were earlier a subject matter of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL No.1053/2004 titled Mukesh Khajuria V/s State of J&K & Ors) wherein the High Court had appointed a Commission of Advocates comprising Senior Advocate K S Johal and S K Anand and the team of lawyers visited Patnitop and reported violations and thereafter action was initiated against the violations.
On this, Division Bench granted liberty to Advocate S S Ahmed to move an application seeking impleadment/intervention in the matter. The DB further allowed time to AAG F A Natnoo to file response on behalf of PDA within three weeks in addition to the comprehensive status report.
The Division Bench further directed the Registry to list the instant PIL alongwith WPPIL No.1053/2014 on November 20, 2018.

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