In the much publicized Public Interest Litigation highlighting alleged hushing up of Chatta Sunjwan land scam Division Bench of the State High Court comprising has directed authorities to initiate appropriate action against all those officers/officials of Jammu Development Authority (JDA) who miserably failed to take action against builder M/s SRK Associates on the directions of Housing and Urban Development Department conveyed vide No.U&D/15/2008/JDA/AS-32 dated 05-02-2008 whereby the then Vice Chairman JDA had been directed to take further necessary action to re-visit/put on hold the building permission granted in favour M/s SRK Associates way back in March, 2007.The petition also seeks directions to the State Government to take appropriate action against the builder in the light of the decision already taken which was conveyed by the Housing and Urban Development Department to the then VC JDA in February, 2008.
After hearing Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed with Advocate Rahul Raina appearing for the petitioner whereas Senior AAG Seema Khajooria Shekhar for GAD, Senior AAG S.S. Nanda for Housing and Urban Development Department and Advocate Adarsh Sharma appearing for Vice Chairman, Jammu Development Authority, the Division Bench headed by Justice Alok Aradhe in the open court directed the filing of response in APPIL No.07/2016 within three weeks and further directed the Registry to list this petition immediately after the expiry of three weeks.Advocate S.S. Ahmed appearing for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner on September, 7, 2015 had filed the aforesaid Miscellaneous Petition No.04/2015 now renumbered as APPIL No.7/2016 wherein he had highlighted as to how the then Vice Chairman JDA after ignoring other 5 Members of BOCA of JDA illegally granted building permission in favour of SRK Associates for construction of 366 Apartments at Village Sunjwan, Jammu. He further submitted that the Division Bench had earlier in September, 2015 and on November, 3, 2015 had issued notices to the Housing and Urban Development Department and Vice-Chairman JDA to file their response but till date no response has been filed by the said functionaries of the State. He further submitted that in this case the BOCA of JDA minus the then VC JDA had disowned the permission granted to M/s SRK Associates and the Administrative Department (HUDD) had viewed the matter very seriously and after taking advise from the then Advocate General J&K had directed the then VC JDA to re-visit/put on hold the building permission granted in favour of the builder.
Advocate Ahmed submitted that since the builder is highly influential and enjoying political connections as such the JDA did not take any action even after the lapse of almost 8 years. He further submitted that the matter is being hushed up just to shield some officers/officials of JDA who abused their official position to confer undue favour to M/s SRK Associates.The Division Bench after considering the submissions of Advocate S.S. Ahmed appearing for the petitioner whereas Senior AAGs S.S. Nanda, Seema Khajooria Shekhar appearing for the State and Advocate Adarsh Sharma appearing for JDA directed the Commissioner/Secretary to Govt. of J&K General Administration Department, Commissioner/Secretary to Govt. of J&K Housing and Urban Development Department and Vice-Chairman JDA to file their response within three weeks from today.Looking into the seriousness of the matter the Division Bench headed by Justice Alok Aradhe directed the Registry to list this petition immediately after three weeks. (CNS)