Delhi HC Clears Way for Demolition of Signature View Apartments

New Delhi, December 24, 2024: The Delhi High Court has okayed the demolition of Signature View Apartments in Mukherjee Nagar, giving residents three months to vacate. The court order comes after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s declaration of the apartments as “dangerous and not fit for habitation” on December 18 last year.

The Delhi Development Authority was ticked off by the court, saying its “delinquency and gross negligence is unpardonable as the same has put the lives of hundreds of residents therein at great risk and danger”.

Justice Mini Pushkarna relied on reports that were placed before the court, revealing that pillars of some of the buildings had “developed wide, deep cracks, and that the steel used was rusted due to corrosion”.

“Considering the various documents placed before this court, it cannot be said that there was no material before the commissioner MCD or his delegate to arrive at the conclusion that the buildings in question were dangerous… On the basis of the material before it, the MCD issued the order under Sections 348 and 349 of the DMC Act, thereby, declaring the towers of the Signature View Apartments as dangerous and not fit for habitation,” Justice Pushkarna said.

“The persistent threat to the life and well-being of the residents of the society has been highlighted irrefutably by the reports of the structural experts. Repair works were undertaken by DDA on many occasions. Yet, the buildings remained structurally unsafe. Accordingly, this court finds no error in the decision of DDA and MCD to declare the structures as dangerous and not fit for habitation, and to carry out reconstruction of the same after demolition,” the court said. The court was dealing with a plea filed by some residents against the decision of DDA and MCD.

In a 145-page verdict, the court said that the pillars of all the buildings were not strong enough to take the load of the multistorey structure. It pointed out that the facts “establish structural defects and flaws in the construction of the apartments, making them structurally unsafe”. 

The court said: “Wide and deep cracks have developed in the beams, columns, and pillars of the structures. There is corrosion and rusting of the steel bars, with deterioration in the reinforced concrete with heavy corrosion. Incidents of falling of interior ceilings of roofs of the flats, and falling of large lumps of exterior plaster, have been reported continuously. The avid object of Right to Life and Right to Live with Dignity, as embodied in Article 21 of Constitution of India, has been infringed with impunity, on account of the callousness and dereliction of DDA.”

DDA could demolish and reconstruct the apartments, the court said but denied the land-owning agency permission to construct 168 additional flats, saying that the residents had rights over the common areas and facilities. “This court cannot be oblivious to the needs of the petitioners for living with dignity and with adequate open spaces. It is to be noted that the petitioners purchased the flats by taking into account the original sanctioned layout plan… with regard to the parking area, community space, common area, green area/open space, natural airflow and sunlight and other basic amenities. Therefore, the valuable rights of the residents over the common areas cannot be impaired,” it said.

The extra flats will compromise the rights of the allottees in respect of land rights as well as the FAR/enhanced FAR, Justice Pushkarna said.

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