Summary
Considering applications concerning premises sealed for commercial misuse, the Court created a conditional route to seek residential de-sealing through its Monitoring Committee. It extended that route to specified non-industrial misuse cases, reserved challenges to itself, and recalled pending challenges to Delhi’s protective legislation from the High Court without deciding their validity.
Issues
- On what conditions the applicants could seek de-sealing for residential use and which forum should consider similar cases.
- Whether pending challenges to Delhi’s special-provisions legislation should return to the Supreme Court.
Held
- The applicants were to submit affidavits limiting use to residential purposes, identifying residents and a responsible person who separately accepted contempt liability for misuse, and proof of conversion-charge payment. The committee could impose further conditions and direct de-sealing if satisfied; refusal could be taken to this Court. Other sealed commercial activities at the property were not covered by this relief. (¶ 34–36)
- Persons whose residential premises were sealed at the committee’s instance for non-industrial commercial or other non-residential misuse could approach it directly after depositing Rs.1 lakh. Pending statutory appeals could be withdrawn for this route. Challenges to committee decisions lay only to the Supreme Court; industrial uses were expressly excluded. (¶ 37–38)
- The unresolved constitutional challenges previously transferred to the High Court were withdrawn to the Supreme Court for expeditious hearing, with directions listing for 12 January 2018. The Court requested renewed amicus assistance and publication of indexed committee reports on a website. (¶ 39–41)
Result
Applications disposed of with conditional committee-based de-sealing procedure; legislative challenges recalled for further hearing, without adjudication of their constitutional merits.