High Court asks Delhi Municipal Corporation to frame rules for penalising encroachers

The court said that such encroachments leave the users of roads and footpaths in “life threatening situations” exposing them to vehicles plying on road, “endangering their lives”.

The HC, thereafter, directed the two land owning authorities–DDA and MCD to devise a mechanism or frame rules for levying charges on the encroacher for illegal encroachment of public land.

In case of encroachment, the encroacher shall be made liable to the extent of illegal encroachment done by him by the concerned land owning authorities, the HC added.

“For ascertaining the charges to be recovered from the encroacher, the land owning authorities shall take into consideration various factors such as the area of encroached land, period for which the encroached land was illegally used by the encroacher for his own personal gains, the market price or circle rate of the encroached area or as the case may be,” the HC underscored.

The observations came in a plea filed by one Kamlesh Jain seeking directions to the Delhi Police to stop an eatery named ‘Books and Beans’ from playing loud music. The petitioner claimed that the eatery was “causing trouble and discomfort” by playing loud music in their cafe from morning till midnight.

On May 13, 2023 the police’s patrolling staff found that the cafe owner had kept the tables and chairs in the open and hence a First Information Report was also lodged against them.

Since the area occupied by the eatery was “public land and was encroached upon” the HC had also issued a notice to the DDA and MCD.

The HC observed that the owner of the eatery had placed green grass carpet as well as furniture such as tables and chairs on an area which they were using as extension to their rented premises despite knowing that it was DDA land and “not within their tenancy”.

The HC said that by using this area without DDA’s permission the eatery owner had been using “public land for his own personal gains to illegally enrich himself at the expense of the State, i.e., DDA…and public at large”.

The high court directed the Station House Officer (SHO) concerned to ensure that no loud music is played by the eatery or any other restaurants in the area in question beyond 10 pm. The court further directed the eatery owner to not encroach upon public land to run the cafe, and in case of any such encroachment the SHO or DDA would take immediate action.