The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to halt the demolition of Signature View Apartments (SVA) in Mukherjee Nagar and directed over 100 families residing there to vacate the premises by October 12.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela also ordered the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to pay rent to displaced residents, with a 10% annual increment, until they are allotted reconstructed flats. To ease the transition, the court directed the DDA to set up a camp office within two days at the apartment complex to assist with documentation and formalities.
The bench permitted residents to remove their belongings, including bathroom fittings and electrical items, and directed the DDA to ensure that demolition is carried out with minimum inconvenience.
It further clarified that residents staying beyond the deadline would be doing so at their own risk, reiterating observations made in its earlier August 7 order.
The court also instructed DDA staff to extend assistance during the evacuation and not insist on “minor details.” A detailed judgment is awaited.
The order was passed in DDA’s appeal against a single-judge ruling from December that had approved demolition and reconstruction of the unsafe towers but rejected the agency’s proposal to build 168 additional flats by using an enhanced floor area ratio.
Residents submitted that while they were ready to vacate, the DDA should not be allowed to float demolition and reconstruction tenders. However, DDA’s counsel Sanjay Jain pressed for immediate compliance with the December ruling.
The same bench also dismissed a plea filed by one of the residents challenging Justice Mini Pushkarna’s August 6 order, which had refused to review the earlier demolition approval.
Constructed between 2007 and 2010, the 336 flats in Signature View Apartments soon became a subject of safety concerns. Structural weaknesses surfaced within a few years, and in 2023, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) issued demolition orders based on a report by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, declaring the buildings unsafe for habitation.
