MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF DELHI Vs. HUKAM CHAND JAIN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Paradoxical though it may seem that a bulidiag, which according to tile Municipal Engineer's report recorded on April 8, 1958, was considered to be so dangerous as to call for demolition immediately, stands till today after the lapse of about eleven years, yet, in spite of the emphasis in this behalf by the learned counsel for the respondent, I do not propose to let my mind be influenced by this factor in deciding the question that arises in this Letters Patent Appeal, directed against the order of D.K. Mahajan, J. dated January 19, 1965. The fight between the parties is about the validity of an order by the appellant directing demolition of the building in question.

(2.) On April 7, 1958, the Commissioner, Delhi Municipal Corporation, in purported exercise of powers conferred on him by section 491 of the Dilhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, directed that "all the powers conferred on mi under the various provisions of the Act shall be exercised also by Shri Ishwar Dayal, Deputy Commissioner, subject to my supervision, control and revision." On April 8, 1958, the Municipal Engineer after inspecting the building recorded a note, the relevant part of which reads:-

(3.) From this note I deduce that the Municipal Engineer recommended vacation of the entire building and demolition of "the dangerous structure." My reading of this note does not persuade me to accept that the recommendation was to demolish the entire structure and that clearly appears from the concluding portion of the note that he was "having the details of the dange- rous portior of the building prepared. On the Foot of that very noie the Deputy Commissioner wrote:-