~By Kunal Rao

Taking note of frivolous petitions, the Delhi High Court has directed the Registrar (Writ) to give the details of over 15 petitions filed by an individual named Amit Kumar alleging unauthorized constructions in various parts of the capital.

A bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said that the Registrar (Writ) would place details of all the cases both — that have come up for hearing as well as the ones which have not been listed.

The court’s direction came while hearing a plea filed by one Amit Kumar, who had alleged that illegal construction was going on one of the plots in ward No-8, Sarai, Mehrauli and despite repeated complaints, no action has been taken by South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).

The plea, filed through advocate Vivek Kumar Shrivastava, also contended that ongoing unauthorized construction was affecting the ecological and environmental balance.

During the proceedings, Tushar Sannu, counsel for the SDMC, informed the court that the petitioner had filed as many as 19 petitions in the last three years.

He also raised questions on the credibility of the petitioner by referring to the filing of multiple petitions by him and also by not appearing in any of the last four hearings in the matter.

A status report was also submitted in this regard by the SDMC about the actions taken by them with regards to the properties mentioned in the petition.

However, advocate Shrivastava, who was not present in the court, said that he cannot comment on the issue unless he had not seen the order.

“I have not seen the order and hence I would not be able to comment on this,” he told India Legal.

Meanwhile, while hearing another such matter on unauthorized construction in Jamia Nagar, the bench remarked, “Our intervention is being used as tool for blackmailing people”.