The Delhi High Court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition for authorities to provide sewage and garbage disposal facilities at an unauthorised colony in the national capital.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora rejected the PIL filed by Sarva Seva Trust as it questioned the legitimacy of providing facilities to encroachers of government land.
“Tomorrow someone will encroach on High Court land, are we going to provide them sewage facility?” it asked.
The PIL had urged the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi government to arrange sewage facilities and garbage disposal measures for the colony. However, the court was informed that the colony in question is unauthorised, and attempts by the MCD to provide facilities have been met with objections from residents of nearby areas.
In light of these circumstances, the bench concluded that the residents of the unauthorised colony were encroachers of government land, and therefore, the court cannot issue directives on the matter.
Remedies like writ petitions cannot be utilised by encroachers of government land, it held.
