Above: A representative picture of a hotel in Kasauli
The Narayani Guest House of Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, which had been built illegally, got a small breather from the Supreme Court on Tuesday, when the apex court said that while electricity cannot be restored to the hotels, time be given for making the state and the Himachal Pradesh Pollution Control Board parties to the case at the top court.
The petitions were heard by a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta against the NGT order.
Additional Solicitor General Paramjit Singh Patwalia, arguing for the Union of India suggested that the HP Pollution Control Board, the state and the Cantonment Board may also be made parties to the case.
The petitioners pleaded before the court that they would not use the excess rooms built or construct any new structure without permission. They also requested for a stay on the previous NGT order (including that of demolition) and restoring electricity to the hotels.
But the apex court declined the plea to restore electricity and directed the hotels not to use the excess rooms.
—India Legal Bureau