JAIPUR: Rajasthan High Court Friday issued status quo orders on the sealing order issued by Jaipur Municipal Corporation – Heritage (JMC-H) to 19 commercial complexes in the Walled City of Jaipur.
The orders were issued by a division bench of Chief Justice MM Shrivastava and Justice Bhuvan Goyal on an application filed by the operators of these commercial complexes. A committee was constituted on the instructions of the high court, which considered 19 buildings in and around Haldiyon ki Rasta of the Walled City as completely illegal.
It was brought to the notice of the high court that business activities were being conducted illegally in some of these 19 buildings. It was also alleged that many of these business activities tampered with the heritage of the Walled City. Based on the recommendations, the high court ordered the sealing of these complexes.
“We pleaded before the court that the committee constituted on Sept 18, 2019, failed to consider the representations of the occupiers of these complexes. Their documents were not considered, and the committee did not afford any chance of hearing the occupants,” said senior counsel Madhav Mitra, appearing for nine petitioners out of the 19 in this case.
The high court, after hearing the arguments, ordered the authorities to maintain the status quo in this matter. The high court had taken suo motu cognisance regarding allegations of commercial activities in residential buildings in the fort. Illegal constructions and commercial activities in residential areas are considered a violation of the legal provisions.
