HC asks NDMC, Jor Bagh Assn to respond to plea against closure of colony gates for over 2 years

PTI, Nov 17, 2022, 6:18 PM IST

The Delhi High Court Thursday directed South Delhi’s Jor Bagh Association to explain whether it enjoys the privilege of locking the colony gates after a plea raised the issue of inconvenience and hindrance caused to people residing in the nearby localities due to that.

The high court asked the Jor Bagh Association to positively respond within a week as to whether the posh locality is a gated colony.

A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad also directed the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) to explain whether Jor Bagh Association is allowed to erect gates inside the colony.

“The replies by Jor Bagh Association and NDMC shall be positively filed within one week. We make it clear that if replies are not filed within one week, the matter will be taken up for grant of interim relief,” the bench and listed the matter for November 28.

It issued notice to the Jor Bagh Association, NDMC and the Delhi government on the petition.

The high court was hearing a petition filed by B K Dutt Colony Youth Association and Karamvir Singh Nagar raising the grievance that Jor Bagh Association has locked gates of Jor Bagh colony and the public is sufering because several banks, temples, markets, community centres and schools are located there.

As interim relief, the petitoners sought direction to the authorities and Jor Bagh Association to open gate no. 1 to 7 during day time and and said these should be manned at night.

Advocate Ajay Chowdhary, appearing for the petitioners, said the Jor Bagh Association has closed several gates in the Jor Bagh Colony which is hindering the movement of people residing there and adjoining colonies and causing difficulties in their daily lives.

The petition, filed through advocates Harsh Ahuja, Kushal Kumar and Akash Deep Gupta, said around 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the RWAs closed the entry/exit gates of their colonies to reduce the spread of the virus.

“The respondent no. 2 (Jor bagh Association), even after lifting of the restrictive measures imposed by the governments, did not open the gates and passed the resolution arbitrarily that all the gates shall remain closed except gate no. 1 (opposite to Lodhi Gardens).

“By such act, the respondent no. 2 has restricted shorter passages for the residents of colonies and general public to various important places such as banks, temples, schools, market centres, post office and Lodhi Garden,” the plea said.

It said there are approximately 1,100 houses and around 3,000-4,000 people residing in B K Dutt Colony and 3,000 people living in the Lodhi Colony area.

It said the petitioner association and other members of public had met representatives of the Jor Bagh Association which declined the request for opening at least one more gate- gate no. 7 after which they approached the high court.

It said the ‘Jorbagh Colony Marg’ is the shortest route for people going to their office or businesss in PMO, Rashtrapati Bhawan and ministries through ‘Aurobindo Marg’. Due to the restriction people have to travel a long distance to reach ‘Aurobindo Marg’.