- (1.) There is an Army ammunition depot in village Badhowal near Ludhiana in the State of Punjab. It is an important defence installation and as per declaration dated 31.1.1983 made under Section 3 of the Works of Defence Act, 1903 (for short the Act) restrictions have been imposed within a radius of 1000 yards of the dumo with a view to keep the said land free from buildings and other obstructions. As per the provisions of the aforesaid Act, no fresh construction can come up within the prohibited area without prior permission of the Army authorities. We may mention here that a number of structures had been raised within the prohibited area which were being used as marriage places for holding functions like marriages and big get-togethers. The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, exercising the powers of the Collector under the Act ordered demolition of some of those structures and a number of writ petitions were filed it this court challenging the orders of demolition. While those writ petitions were being argued before one of us sitting with N.K. Sud, J., the present writ petition came to be filed with a prayer that the ammunition dump itself be ordered to be shifted from Ludhiana from its present site to some other safer place.
(2.) We have heard learned counsel for the parties and are of the view that the writ petition is wholly misconceived. The aminipion depot is a strategic defence installation and in the very nature of things the matter of its location is a delicate and sensitive issue involving the defence and security of the country. The question as to where this ammunition depot should be located is not a matter for this court under Article 226 of the Constitution to decide and it can only be decided by the Government of India in consultation with the defence experts keeping in view the national interest and security of the country. This court is ill-equipped to decide such a matter as it does not have the requisite technical expertise nor is it aware of the defence requirements of the country. We are not even aware as to what infrastructure is required for setting up ail ammunitions depot or shifting the same from one site to another and whether it is at all feasible to do so. This writ petition has been filed ostensibly in public interest but it appears to us that the real objective of the writ petitions was to stall the process of demolition of the huge unauthorised structures which had come up in violation of the prohibition imposed by the Government of India under Section 3 read with Section 7 of the Act. I vividly recollect that during the course of hearing in the earlier writ petitions referred to above a prayer was made to stay further proceedings in those writ petitions till the present writ petition was disposed of. As already observed, this writ petition was filed when hearing in the earlier writ petitions had already commenced and the prayer for stay was strenuously opposed by the learned counsel then appearing for the Union of India on the ground that the matter was of a sensitive nature involving defence of the country and, therefore, the writ petitions should be disposed of at the earliest. Keeping all this in view, the prayer for stay of proceedings in those writ petitions had been declined and the writ petitions were disposed of notwithstanding filing of the present writ petition. This court has already upheld the order of the Collector ordering demolition of those huge structures which had come up in violation of the provisions of the Act. This being so, there is no occasion for this Court to grant the prayer made in the present writ petition which has obviously been filed with an ulterior motive and not in public interest. In the result, the writ petition is dismissed in liminie.;