Stunned that the famous Hanuman statue at Karol Bagh in the Capital was built by encroaching public land, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe how the 108-foot idol was allowed to come up by the civic officials.
A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar expressed reservations at the civic authorities for failing to act while the illegal structure was being built. It said the officers under whose watch the structure came up could be charged with serious panel offences.
“It’s high time all public official are held accountable. It is an abuse of official position,” the court remarked while directing the CBI to also investigate if there was any quid pro quo for not acting against the encroachers.
Account frozen
The court directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, the Land and Development Office, the Public Works Department and Mandir Marg police station to join the investigation and cooperate with the CBI.
The court also directed an enquiry against a private two-wheeler dealership which encroached upon public land in the Karol Bagh area.
It froze the bank account of the trust running the temple saying it should not be permitted to enjoy the benefit of money derived from public land.
“Violating the Supreme Court’s direction and statutory provisions cannot be countenanced. The authorities have not taken a single step to protect the land or prevent encroachment,” the Bench said.
The court was earlier informed that one leg of the idol fell on the pavement, the rest of the structure was primarily located on land belonging to the DDA.
Full particulars
The court had called for full particulars of the persons responsible for erection of the idol, as well as the unauthorised buildings and constructions, including particulars of the persons who funded it and are in control of these encroachments. The court was hearing a bunch of petitions related to illegal constructions and encroachments in Karol Bagh here.
