NATIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION LTD AND ORS. versus KHOSMENDIR SINGH GAHUNIA AND ORS.

Citation: [2016] 7 S.C.R. 992 · Decided: 02-09-2016 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: T.S. THAKUR · Disposal: Disposed off
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Judgment (excerpt)

(2016) 7 S.C.R. 992 
A 
NATIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION 
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LTD AND ORS. 
v. 
KHOSMENDTR SINGH GAHUNIA AND ORS. 
(Civil Appeal No. 8747 of2016) 
SEPTEMBER 02, 2016 
[T.S. THAKUR, CJI, A.M. KHANWILKAR AND 
DR. D.Y. CHANDRACHUD, JJ.] 
Urban development - Re-development of colony - Plea of 
respondent-writ petitioners that appellant-Corporation, the 
nominated executing agency for re-development, progressively 
encroached the public road thereby denying access to the general 
public - Assurance of appellant-Corporation by way of affidavit 
and undertaking that closure of the road is not of a permanent 
nature but is of temporary character to facilitate the completion of 
work and that it would restore the road in accordance with the 
terms of the approved layout plan - Held: A temporary closure of 
ingress and egress was necessitated to avoid any mishaps and at 
this stage, the balance of convenience would lie in allowing the 
completion of the project - However, it is open to the High Court to 
impose suitable safeguards, to allay the apprehensions of the 
respondents/writ petitioners - NDMC Act,1994 - s.2 (39). 
Appellant-Corporation was nominated as an executing 
agency for re-development of a colony. The respondent filed 
writ petition contending that after re-development commenced 
in September 2013, the appellant-corporation progressively 
encroached the public road thereby denying access to the general 
public. High Court held that it was not open to the appellants to 
shut down the road, which was in existence for sixty years, for an 
unstated duration. Hence, the present appeals. 
Disposing of the appeals, the Court 
HELD: 1. The affidavit and the undertaking filed by the 
appellants to the effect that the appellants would by December 
2018 restore the road in accordance with the terms of the 
approved layout plan. A temporary closure of ingress and egress 
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NBCC LTD. v. KHOSMENDIR SINGH GAHUNIA 
was necessitated to avoid any mishaps. That being the position, 
the grievance of the appellants that at this stage, the balance of 
convenience would lie in allowing the completion of the project 
is accepted. The project for re-development having received the 
statutory approvals, it is necessary to facilitate the completion of 
the project on schedule. The statements which have been made 
on behalf of the appellants in the further affidavit as well as the 
undertaking would adequately protect the concerns of the 
petitioners who had moved to the High Court. It is appropriate 
and proper in the interests of justice to remit the proceedings to 
the High Court to consider whether any additional safeguards 
should be introduced so as to allay the genuine apprehensions of 
the petitioners before it. The project for re-development shall 
proceed unhindered. However, it is to open to the High Court to 
impose suitable safeguards, to allay the apprehensions of the 
original petitioners. [Para 18) [999-E, G-H, 1000-A-B, C-D) 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 8747 
of2016. 
From the Judgment and Order dated 07.04.2016 of the High Court 
of Delhi, New Delhi in W. P. (C) No. 303 of 2016. 
WITH 
C. A. No. 8748 of2016 
Mukul Rohatgi, AG, Manoj K. Dass, Nikilesh Ramachandran, 
Piyush Bhardwaj, Neeraj Jha, Saurabh Mishra, Ms. Rekha Chaudhary, 
Ad vs. for the Appellants. 
Keshav Dayal, Ajit Kumar Sinha, Sr. Advs., Alok Gupta, R. K. 
Rathore, Vibhu Shankar Mishra, D. S. Mahra, Dr. Salone Kantroo, Advs. 
for the Respondents. 
K. S. Gahunia, Respondent-in-person. 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
DR. D, Y. CHANDRACHUD, J. I. Leave granted. 
2. These Appeals by the National Building Construction 
Corporation, a public sector enterprise, arise from a judgment and order 
of the Delhi High Court dated 7 April 2016. 
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2016] 7 S.C.R. 
3. Under the Master Plan of202 I ,Delhi Development Authority 
issued a Zonal Development Plan for Zone(Division)-D on 27 July 1993, 
under which Kidwai Nagar East was earmarked as a colony for re-
development.Spread over an area of 86 acres,the colony comprised of 
2331 housing units meant for employees of the Central Government. 
Apart from residential units, the colony had three schools and two local 
shopping markets. Within its precincts, there is a protected monument, 
called Darya Khan's Tomb on an area of about 2 acres. 
4. The Master Plan took effect on 7 February 2007,
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