Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Feb 13: High Court quashed the judgment and order of J&K Special Tribunal compounding the deviation in raising the structure in blatant violation of 12-year-old building permission and asked the Srinagar Municipal Corporation to take stern action against the officials at the helm of affairs in allowing the violations.
The Chairman, Building Operation Controlling Authority (BOCA) Srinagar has filed the writ petition seeking quashing of order of J&K Special Tribunal passed in an Appeal filed by the violators against Order of Demolition passed by the authority.
The crux of the case is that the chairman BOCA issued a building permission in 2012 in favour of Jameel Hussain Farooqi and Shamim Hussain Farooqi sons of Mohammad Yousuf Farooqi of Kalashpora Srinagar for construction of house three story house with three shops in ground floor with plinth area1350 sqft but they raised the house with the plinth area of 2641 sqft.
They raised construction in blatant violation of terms and conditions of building permission and proceedings under J&K Control of Building Operation Act were initiated against them by issuing order of demolition bearing which has been challenged by the respondent-violators in an appeal before the Tribunal.
The Tribunal while allowing the appeal compounded violations and deviations by the violators against composition fee of Rs.1,29,100. Aggrieved of the said order passed by the Tribunal, the BOCA challenged the same before the High Court.
The Tribunal despite observing that the violators might have made deviations of sanctioned plan in broad daylight when functionaries of petitioner-SMC were under obligation to ensure compliance of the building permission but they remained mute spectators while the construction was being raised.
The Tribunal has also found that notices under Section 7(1) and 7(3) by the BOCA have been issued after completion of construction, which ought to have been issued at the material point of time, so that the purpose would have been achieved.
Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul while quashing the order of Special Tribunal said, despite observing the facts that violations have been committed by respondent-violators in a broad daylight under the nose of functionaries of SMC, the Tribunal compounded violations/deviations notwithstanding the fact that construction has been raised in gross violation of the building permission, which reflects non-application of mind on the part of the Tribunal and warrants interference. Such a practice should be stopped by the Tribunal.
“In the present case as well, the petitioner-BOCA are required to take stern action against the officials and officers who were at the helm of affairs at the relevant point of time when the violations were committed by respondents. The order impugned by the Special Tribunal is quashed”, Justice Koul directed.
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