The High Court imposed a major stay, halting the corporation's action on confiscation of a 19-acre colony.
Bilaspur: The Municipal Corporation's haste regarding 19 acres of valuable land in Tifra Sector D has finally backfired. The High Court has stayed the corporation's action, which included declaring the colony forfeit just hours before the hearing. The court clearly stated, "Such haste undermines the judicial process."
According to High Court records, after the notice was issued on November 4th, the Municipal Corporation submitted its response on November 12th. This means the matter was before the court and a hearing had been scheduled. Despite this, on Thursday morning, the Corporation issued an order confiscating the disputed land.
Petitioner Surendra Jaiswal argued that the order was deliberately issued in haste to seize the land before the hearing. The court also raised the same question: why the haste when the case was pending?
During the afternoon hearing, the court expressed displeasure with the corporation's action and immediately imposed a stay. The bench headed by Justice Partha Pratim Sahu stated that issuing a confiscation order without completing the legal process was not appropriate.
The colony was declared illegal, the corporation was handling the case based on the committee's report.
A 10-member inquiry committee was formed by the Municipal Corporation, which found the colony's plotting to be illegal. The committee recommended action under Sections 292-C and 292-G of the Municipal Corporation Act of 1956. Subsequently, the Corporation invited 33 claims and objections and claimed that all had been resolved.
Colonizer Surendra Jaiswal said that he had already challenged all the notices issued by the corporation in the High Court, making the confiscation order automatically invalid. The court agreed and stayed the corporation's proceedings.
