No stay on Signature View demolition, HC assures residents of safe rebuild

The court said 168 flats will be rebuilt under its supervision with safety standards, after residents urged halting demolition and tendering process.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday reserved interim orders on whether to halt the demolition of Signature View Apartments in Mukherjee Nagar and the issuance of tenders for demolition and reconstruction, even as it expressed reluctance to stay the process, observing that any delay would serve no one’s interest.

Built between 2007–10, the 336 Signature View flats were declared dangerous; MCD had issued demolition orders in 2023 following IIT Delhi’s report. (HT Archive)

A bench of chief justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said it was disinclined to stop demolition or tendering but assured residents that the rebuilt flats, once vacated, would be constructed under its supervision and in compliance with safety standards. “The more the delay in reconstruction, the more it would increase the cost and also the rent… So any delay in the project is in nobody’s interest. No stay on demolition,” the bench remarked.

The bench noted that tenders for reconstruction would not be floated until the plan was prepared. The bench clarified, “The plan will include building 168 flats… We’ll ensure that once it is vacated, the restructured apartments are constructed under our supervision, and we’ll ensure safety measures and structured designs.”

The observations came after the residents’ counsel said they were ready to vacate their flats but urged the court to restrain the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) from demolishing the structure or floating tenders until the court took a call on DDA’s petition regarding the additional construction of flats.

DDA’s counsel, Sanjay Jain, sought directions to vacate the flats in line with Justice Mini Pushkarna’s December order, which had held the buildings dangerous and unsafe for habitation. That order directed residents to vacate within three months and required DDA to pay monthly rent until reconstructed flats were handed over.

Jain submitted that DDA would need time to finalise its demolition plan but would continue paying facilitation fees with a 10% annual increment until possession of rebuilt units.

The bench also issued notice on DDA’s petition challenging Justice Pushkarna’s ruling that barred the authority from constructing 168 additional flats as part of the redevelopment and granting residents rights over an adjoining 0.67-hectare plot. It further reserved a verdict on a petition by a resident challenging Pushkarna’s August 6 order dismissing a review of the December ruling.

Signature View Apartments, comprising 336 flats built between 2007 and 2010, were declared structurally unsafe after an IIT Delhi report. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi issued demolition orders in 2023.