Jammu & Kashmir & Ladakh High Court Orders Fortnightly Anti-Encroachment Drive In Jammu City To Ensure No Public Road Is Encroached
The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Excessive Courtroom has directed the Jammu Municipal Company (JMC) to make sure that no public highway or pathway is encroached by anyone and to conduct anti-encroachment drive in Jammu metropolis each fortnight.
The Courtroom was listening to a Public Curiosity Litigation (PIL) filed by Jagdish Raj (now deceased) in respect of the unlawful encroachment made by the shopkeepers and different unknown individuals in JDA Purchasing Advanced, close to Metropolis Chowk, Jammu and after his demise, the Petition was continued by the Courtroom by itself movement.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal directed, “The Jammu Municipal Company shall be sure that no public pathway/highway/road/nullah is encroached by anyone and shall conduct anti-encroachment drive in the entire Metropolis of Jammu each fortnight and through drive, the encroachments non permanent or everlasting made by the shopkeepers or any industrial institution on the pathways/streets/roads/nullahs be eliminated. No industrial institution be permitted to position their devices on the road/pathway/highway/nullah.”
The Bench additional ordered that the JMC shall educate the shopkeepers or house owners of business institutions towards encroaching any road/highway/pathway/nullah for the aim of displaying/promoting their items/retaining their devices and penalties of the violations thereof.
Advocate Ajay Sharma was appointed because the Amicus Curiae. Senior AAG S.S. Nanda and Senior Advocate Sunil Sethi represented the Respondents.
Temporary Details
The Petition targeted on two points. First was that quite a few Rehries are working illegally within the completely different elements of the Jammu Metropolis together with the realm of Metropolis Chowk Jammu, to Central Primary Excessive Faculty, Purani Mandi, Jammu, resulting in obstruction of free motion of pedestrians and impeding the graceful move of site visitors. And second was that there have been giant scale encroachments on the roads/streets/pathways by a number of individuals together with shopkeepers which additionally impede and impede free move of pedestrians and autos.
In 2018, the JMC filed its compliance report stating that it has carried out particular anti-encroachment drives with the help of Police whereby materials displayed by the store house owners by extending their outlets inflicting hindrance within the public pathways/streets have been confiscated and on this regard store house owners have been knowledgeable that these discovered to be repeating the violations regardless of discover to chorus, their outlets shall be sealed after giving discover, specifying a time restrict of ten days to take away the violations.
Thereafter, it filed one other standing report stating that 242 notices have been served upon the shopkeepers/store house owners who had encroached the footpaths within the space. The JMC in compliance to the 2019 Courtroom’s Order submitted the standing report, stating therein that they’re sustaining fixed vigil so as to be sure that the Rehries are stationed in Rehri zone and never stationed at highway aspect and on this regard, they’ve recognized as many as eight Rehries zones all through the municipal space.
Courtroom’s Instructions
In view of the submissions made by the Amicus Curiae, the Courtroom issued the next instructions –
• The errant shopkeepers/house owners of business institutions, who regardless of being challaned and fined, repeat their actions once more and show their merchandise by extending their outlets or inserting their devices on the general public highway/road/pathways, the Jammu Municipal Company along with penal provisions, shall additionally proceed towards the encroachers when it comes to part 232 of the Municipal Company Act. The Jammu Municipal Company shall additionally proceed towards such violators when it comes to part 371 of the Municipal Company Act.
• If regardless of repeated fines and motion beneath part 232 of the Municipal Company Act, the violator(s) nonetheless proceed(s) along with his/their unlawful actions, the Jammu Municipal Company, shall seal the store/industrial institution after the failure on the a part of violator to take away the violation inside 10 days of the discover to take away the violation(s).
• The Jammu Growth Authority shall be sure that the shopkeepers within the JDA Advanced located at Metropolis Chowk, Jammu don’t encroach the pathways in entrance of their outlets and in case of repeated violations could subject discover for cancellation of their lease deeds and thereafter proceed in accordance with regulation.
• The Jammu Municipal Company shall be sure that no meals joint is operated on the roadside/pathway/road with out permission from the Jammu Municipal Company and competent authority beneath Meals Security and Requirements Act, 2006.
• The Jammu Municipal Company shall additionally be sure that rehries function solely on the designated locations and no obstruction is brought on in clean move of site visitors as a result of unlawful operation of rehries.
• The authority involved shall make sure the implementation of Road Distributors (Safety of Livelihood and Regulation Road Merchandising) Act, 2014 and Guidelines of 2021 framed there-under, in its letter and spirit.
Moreover, the Courtroom directed the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) to supply the required safety to the officers of Jammu Municipal Company and Jammu Growth Authority every time required.
“Because the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu has already nominated as Nodal Officer, he shall maintain the assembly with the Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Company and Vice Chancellor, Jammu Growth Authority recurrently, in order that the instructions issued as talked about above, are complied with in its letter and spirit. Whereas eradicating the encroachments, the officers involved shall use minimal drive, in order that no pointless harassment is brought on to anybody”, it added.
Accordingly, the Excessive Courtroom closed the proceedings within the PIL, issued crucial instructions, and granted liberty to Amicus Curiae and some other public-spirited particular person to convey to the discover of the Courtroom non-compliance of the instructions by the officers/authorities.
Trigger Title- Courtroom of its personal movement v. State of J&Ok and Others (Case Quantity: PIL No. 27/2017)
Look:
Petitioner: Advocate Ajay Sharma (Amicus Curiae)
Respondents: Senior AAG S.S. Nanda, Senior Advocate Sunil Sethi, Advocates Parimoksh Seth, A. Ok. Sawhney, Harshwardhan Gupta, Sachin Dogra, and Atul Verma.
