The Jammu and Kashmir Special Tribunal presided by member judicial Rajeev Gupta on Monday allowed an appeal filed by Mamta Singh, wife of former deputy chief minister (CM) Nirmal Kumar Singh, and set aside a demolition notice served to her by the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) directing her to demolish their bungalow at Ban in Nagrota area of Jammu district.
The Jammu and Kashmir Special Tribunal (Bench-II) has set aside the demolition order issued by the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) for the bungalow built by Mamta Singh, the wife of former J&K deputy chief minister Nirmal Kumar Singh. The JDA had alleged that the construction was made in violation of building bylaws. The Tribunal cited defects in the service of the show-cause notice on Mamta Singh and said that the JDA failed to establish the valid service of the notice, which is a mandatory pre-condition for proceeding with the statutory exercise against violation of the building bylaws, the Indian Express reported.
However, the Tribunal observed that the JDA’s Building Operation Controlling Authority (BOCA) is free to proceed afresh against Mamta Singh for violation of building bylaws by strictly adhering to the procedure prescribed under Section 7 of the J&K Control of Building Operations Act, 1988. Senior advocate R K Gupta and advocate Rahul Sadotra appeared on behalf of Mamta Singh and argued that the requisite notice was never served upon her.
The JDA’s counsel, Adarsh Sharma, stated that the demolition notice was issued as the appellant did not respond to the show-cause notice duly served upon her. However, the J&K Special Tribunal set aside the demolition order on technical grounds of a defect in the service of the show-cause notice on Mamta Singh.
A whistleblower, Muzzaffar Ali Shah, had revealed that the wife of the former Deputy Chief Minister had constructed the bungalow without the JDA’s permission. The JDA issued a demolition notice after the whistleblower highlighted the matter in public. Mamta Singh appealed against the JDA’s demolition order before the Special Tribunal, arguing that the plot on which the construction was raised was bought before the JDA’s jurisdiction came into force.
Following this, the tribunal had kept in abeyance the JDA’s demolition order, asking both the parties to maintain status quo. The Army has also filed a petition in the J&K and Ladakh High Court challenging the construction of the bungalow as it is located just 580 yards from the boundary wall of its ammunition sub-depot. According to provisions of the Works of Defence Act (WoDA), 1903, any construction up to 1,000 yards from a defence installation is prohibited.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
