Maradu flats: SC lists case by ‘courts motion’

‘It may possibly turn out to be a case of contempt of court proceedings’

One of the flats located on the banks of Kochi backwaters that are to be demolished.

The Maradu municipal authorities are facing a probable contempt of court charge in the Maradu flat demolition case as the Supreme Court has listed the case by “courts motion.”

The Bench consisting of Justice Arun Mishra and Justice M. R. Shah has listed the case for Friday. The diary of the court has listed the Kerala Coastal State Management Authority as the petitioner and the secretary of the Maradu municipality as the respondent.

A Supreme Court lawyer who appeared in the case said it could be a possible case of contempt of court proceedings, which was suo motu initiated by the court. No one seemed to have approached the court with a contempt of court petition, said the lawyer.

The Bench had on May 8 ordered the demolition of the four flats that came up in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone norms in one month. It had also asked the authorities to report back on the implementation of its order. Incidentally, the review petitions filed by the residents of the four apartments were rejected by the apex court, leaving the nearly 300 apartment owners with no legal avenues to protect their apartments but to abandon the structures.

Court-set deadline

Even three months after the expiry of the court-set deadline, the authorities could not make any headway regarding the implementation of the verdict. The State government and the Maradu municipality had been passing the buck regarding the implementation of the order.

While the State Environment Department (ED) maintained that the Environment Protection Act empowered the local body to implement the apex court order, the municipal authorities said the local body was incapable of implementing the order on its own. The ED is yet to obtain a demotion plan from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, which it had commissioned for the purpose, sources said.

Civic body blames govt.

At the same time, the Maradu municipal authorities blamed the State government for not supporting it to implement the court order.

The municipality is of the view that the Supreme Court order shall be implemented.