Private flats near Rashtrapati Bhavan: HC stays own order

With the Centre challenging the Delhi High Courts nod to a private company to go ahead with its plan to construct residential buildings near the Rashtrapati Bhavan,the court has stayed the execution of the order.

With the Centre challenging the Delhi High Courts nod to a private company to go ahead with its plan to construct residential buildings near the Rashtrapati Bhavan,the court has stayed the execution of the order.

A Division Bench granted the stay after the Centre said the contention between Edward Keventer Successors Private Ltd (EKSPL) and the government was purely contractual in nature,based on administrative discretion vested with the latter.

Additional Solicitor General Vivek Tankha and advocate Arjun Harkauli submitted the lease between the Union of India and EKSPL that granted an administrative discretion on the former to allow or restrain them from any change in the use of the land and hence,a judicial order was an encroachment over the administrative authority.

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In a judgment that was bound to break the fresh ground for new housing projects in Central Delhi,a single-judge Bench in May had allowed the petition of EKSPL that holds the lease for 9.26 hectares dairy farm located around 1 km behind the Presidential Estate.

EKSPL,a subsidiary of real estate giant DLF,had approached the court last year after the government refunded the conversion charges deposited by them for converting the dairy farm into commercial or group housing projects.

The Ministry of Urban Development had rejected their application in August 2009,claiming that privately owned flats would pose security threat to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Land and Development office,however,had not rejected the application of EKSPL,prompting them to move the High Court and contend that the decision was unjust and arbitrary. The court had then directed the government to accept the conversion charges.

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Private flats near Rashtrapati Bhavan: HC stays own order

With the Centre challenging the Delhi High Courts nod to a private company to go ahead with its plan to construct residential buildings near the Rashtrapati Bhavan,the court has stayed the execution of the order.

With the Centre challenging the Delhi High Courts nod to a private company to go ahead with its plan to construct residential buildings near the Rashtrapati Bhavan,the court has stayed the execution of the order.