- (1.) By judgment and order dated 5/12/2011, this Court disposed of Civil Appeal No.10535 of 2011 and issued following directions: (1) That banking or nursing homes or any other commercial activity is not permitted in Sector 19 and for that matter, in any sector, in the development area earmarked for residential use . (2) That the 21 banks and the nursing homes, which are operating in Sector 19 or any other residential sector, shall close their activity forthwith, stop misuse and put the premises to residential use alone, within two months from the date of pronouncement of this judgment. (3) That lessees of the plots shall ensure that the occupant banks, nursing homes, companies or persons carrying on any commercial activity in the residential sector should stop such activity and shift the same to the appropriate sectors i.e. commercial, commercial pockets in industrial/institutional area and specified pockets for commercial use within the residential sector, strictly earmarked for that activity in the development plan, the Regulations and provisions of the Act. (4) That the Development Authority shall consider the request for allotment of alternative spaces to the banks and the persons carrying on other commercial activities, with priority and expeditiousness. (5) That the doctors, lawyers and architects can use 30% of the area on the ground floor in their premises in residential sector for running their clinics/offices. (6) That for such use, the lawyers, architects and doctors shall be liable to pay such charges as may be determined by the Development Authority in accordance with law and after granting an opportunity of being heard. The affected parties would be at liberty to raise objections before the Development Authority that no charges are payable for such users as per the law in force. (7) In the event the lessee or the occupant fails to stop the offending activity and/or shift to alternate premises within the time granted in this judgment, the Development Authority shall seal the premises and proceed to cancel the lease deed without any further delay, where it has not already cancelled the lease deed. (8) Wherever the Development Authority has already passed the orders canceling the lease deeds, such orders shall be kept in abeyance for a period of two months from today. In the event the misuse is not stopped within a period of two months in terms of this judgment, then besides sealing of the premises, these orders of cancellation shall stand automatically revived and would come into force without further reference to any court. In the event the misuse is completely stopped in all respects, the orders passed by the authorities shall stand quashed and the property would stand restored to the lessees. (9) These orders shall apply to all cases, where the order of termination of lease has been passed by the Development Authority irrespective of whether the same has been quashed and/or writs of the lessees dismissed by any court of competent jurisdiction and even if such judgment is in appeal before this Court. (10) The orders in terms of this judgment shall be passed by an officer not below the rank of Commissioner. This order shall be passed after giving an opportunity to the parties of being heard by such officer. This direction shall relate only to the determination of charges, if any, payable by the lessee or occupant for the period when the commercial activity was being carried on in the premises in question.
(2.) On 23/1/2012, it was pointed out to us that 30% of the ground floor area permitted to be used under Direction (5) above is contrary to the bye-laws and master plan of NOIDA. It was urged before us that the expression ground floor used in the same clause may be clarified as any floor because somebody may be having a two-storeyed house and may himself be living on the first floor only. In the circumstances, we modified Direction (5) quoted above and clarified that 25% of the permissible FAR is allowed to be used for their professional purposes by doctors, lawyers and architects. We also modified paragraphs 54 and 55 of our judgment as follows: That the doctors, lawyers and architects can use 25 per cent of the permissible FAR of any floor in their premises in the residential sector but only for running their personal office or personal clinic in its restricted sense as clarified in the judgment.
(3.) By the said order dated 23/1/2012, we have issued the following further directions: (i) The NOIDA Authorities shall, within one week from today, issue a final notice to all the owners of the residences requiring them to stop use of the premises for banking or any other commercial activity and requiring them to shift from the residential areas. (ii) The NOIDA Authority shall also issue an advertisement stating therein the premises which can be offered to the banks as per the policy of the NOIDA Authority. This policy shall clearly state the terms and conditions for allotment and the manner in which the allotment of the alternative site/land would be made to the banks and/or other commercial activities in appropriate sectors i.e. commercial, institutional or industrial-commercial. We make it clear that such policy should be fair and transparent. (iii) Within one week thereafter the banks and other persons carrying on the commercial activities shall respond to the advertisement given by the NOIDA Authority or the circular issued by them. Their allotment should be finalized immediately thereafter. (iv) The entire process should be completed within six weeks from today. After six weeks the NOIDA Authority shall be entitled to cancel the lease deed as well as take other permissible steps in accordance with law to prevent commercial users in the residential sectors. We also make it clear that the NOIDA Authority will be at liberty to consider the request of the nursing homes, clinics or other commercial activities carrying on the residential areas for allotment of an alternative site in accordance with its policy, if any. The NOIDA Authority shall be entitled to fix present day rates or impose such other terms and conditions as is considered appropriate by them. This we leave to the discretion of the authorities concerned. (v) Any branches that have opened in NOIDA after the pronouncement of the judgment of this Court shall not be entitled to any of the benefits of the judgment and this order. (vi) We make it clear that the directions contained in this order should be complied with by all concerned and within the time stipulated. In the event of default, this court shall be compelled to take proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 against the erring or defaulting officers/officials. ;