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National Building Construction Corporation Ltd. & Ors. v. Khosmendir Singh Gahunia & Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8747 of 2016)Decided 2 Sept 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8747 of 2016
Chief Justice T.S. Thakur · Justice A.M. Khanwilkar · Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud

Background

NBCC, a public sector enterprise, was executing agency for the Rs. 5,300-crore redevelopment of the Kidwai Nagar East government colony in Delhi. Residents' welfare associations went to the Delhi High Court complaining that NBCC had progressively encroached on and then completely closed Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Marg, a public road used by the public for over 60 years, without proper sanction. The Delhi High Court, relying on NDMC's counter-affidavit that the road had been retained (only its entry/exit points shifted) under the sanctioned layout plan, directed NDMC to enforce the sanctioned plan, and NBCC appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

Before the Supreme Court, NBCC filed a fresh affidavit clarifying that the road closure was only temporary, needed until December 2018 to safely carry out deep excavation (35-40 feet) for interconnected basements, and gave an undertaking to restore the road per the approved layout plan thereafter. Accepting this undertaking and the Attorney General's submission that the stalled project needed to proceed, the Court held the balance of convenience favoured allowing the temporary closure, and permitted the project to proceed unhindered. However, it remitted the case to the Delhi High Court only for the limited purpose of deciding whether any additional safeguards were needed to protect residents' legitimate concerns about eventual restoration of the road.

Lesson Learnt

A temporary closure of a long-used public road can be permitted by courts for a public infrastructure project where the executing agency gives a clear, time-bound undertaking to restore it, but courts can still keep a supervisory window open (here, via the High Court) to make sure that promise is actually enforced.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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