“Will prayer reach God if you pray from an illegal property,” remarked the Delhi High Court on Tuesday, expressing displeasure at the illegally constructed Hanuman idol in Karol Bagh here.
A Bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar made it clear that officials responsible for allowing the 108-foot idol to be erected would be prosecuted.
“Even if we can’t remove the temple, people who are responsible for it will meet their fate,” the Bench said, after it was informed that the idol was built in 2002, and the temple along with it was run by a trust.
A committee appointed by the High Court had revealed large-scale encroachment on public land, including the construction of the Hanuman idol, in the area.
The High court on a previous hearing had noted that these constructions were not only encroachments on public land but also render the persons responsible for commission of offences under the IPC.Indian Penal Code
The court called for full particulars of the persons responsible for erection of the idol as well as the unauthorised buildings.
The court had also taken note of the committee report which pointed out that there is an encroachment of up to 1170 square yards on Delhi Development Authority (DDA) land at the Old Link Road, Southern Ridge.
During the hearing, Delhi government additional standing counsel Satyakam, appearing for the Public Works Department (PWD, said while one paw of the idol fell on the pavement, the rest of the structure was primarily located on land belonging to the DDA. He said the road and the pavement was the responsibility of the municipal corporation.
The Bench then questioned why commercial activities and car parking was permitted in the area.
Earlier, the court had remarked that religious structures cannot be allowed to encroach on public land for private gain and at the expense of others' rights. The court was hearing a bunch of petitions relating to illegal constructions and encroachments in Karol Bagh area of Delhi.
