The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition challenging a DDA notification, where the owners/allottees/residents/users of premises under mixed use, shall be liable to pay a one-time conversion charge on mixed use/commercial streets, instead of annual mixed use charges.
The reason for dismissal by the court was that the nature of the PIL is against the purpose of a PIL. The petitioner has alleged that a one-time payment, instead of annual payment, would tantamount to hardship for small businessmen and this arbitrary action of the respondents would cause injustice to small businessmen in Delhi, due to which they will not be able to carry on their business.
“That the modification made is also contrary to the ease of doing business promoted by the government and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution,” he said.
A Bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said: “No writ can be entertained on behalf of the businessman or a group of businessmen in the name of Public Interest Litigation.”
The Court further said: “As the petitioner is the chairperson of the group of some businessmen, this is no reason to entertain it as a public interest litigation.”
“The court might have taken cognisance of this matter, if the petitioner would have come in his personal capacity. A Public Interest Litigation must be filed on behalf of the poor and downtrodden people of the society. The petitioner and Advocates for the petitioner must have in their minds, the basic concept of a PIL.”
The present petition has been filed, being aggrieved by the modification, dated June 29, 2018, in the notification issued by the Delhi Development Authority dated June 22, 2007, in exercise of its powers under Section 57 of Delhi Development Act,1957 regarding fixation of use conversion charges for mixed use/ commercial use of premises and Shop-cum-Residence plots/ complexes, later designated as LSCs.
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The petitioner had sought direction to the Respondents to allow payment annually, instead of one-time payment method, to save businessmen from hardship of paying one-time conversion charges and also direct the Respondents to create separate fund for conversion and parking charges and not use the same for any other purpose, other than the development of the area and parking facilities in the concerned area.
The petition was filed by Advocate Gagan Gandhi and Advocate Mohit Kaushik for the Petitioner Sandeep Bhardwaj.
Source: ILNS