Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the plea seeking suspension of Central Vista project work and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the petitioner for moving a motivated plea.
Order: This is a motivated petition preferred by the petitioner and not a genuine petition. The petition is dismissed with a cost of Rs.1,00,000/-.#CentralVista
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) May 31, 2021
Raising concerns over the safety of the construction workers amidst the pandemic, a joint petition was filed by Anya Malhotra, a translator, and Sohail Hashmi, a ‘historian’ and documentary filmmaker who claimed the work does not fall in the essential category and can be put on hold.
However, the Centre had already submitted in their response stating that utmost care had been taken with on-site accommodation and “access to immediate medical attention and proper care made available on site.
Court’s order specified the DDMA had nowhere in its order prohibited the construction work and that the work is scheduled to be completed by November 2021 as time is of the essence in the contract.
Delhi High Court refuses to stay construction work on #CentralVista Redevelopment project stating that as the workers are staying on site, no question of suspending the construction work arises in light of #Covid19.
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) May 31, 2021
Solicitor General Tushar Mehra, representing the Centre, said that the petition was a “facade” and a “disguise” to stall the project which was agreed by the Bench who declared the petition to be highly motivated.
