Shimla: Himachal Pradesh High Court on Thursday has directed the Municipal Corporation, Shimla to inform as to why the parking at Khalini hasn’t been made operational to date, despite Court orders and as to when the parking would be made operational.
The Court also directed the Labour Inspector, Shimla to appear before the Court on next date of hearing July 2.
The orders were passed by Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan on a contempt petition filed by Deepak Gupta, alleging non-compliance of the orders passed by the Court in the public interest matters.
The Court observed that on January 3, it had directed the Municipal Corporation authorities to make the parking at Khalini operational, for which tenders were invited for January 15, 2020, but till date the parking has not been made functional.
The Court also issued show cause notice to two shopkeepers/ violators namely Kamal and Ashok Kumar, to show cause as to why the proceedings under Contempt of Courts Act be not initiated against them for violation of Court orders. The Court also directed the police authorities to register cases against the aforesaid persons for obstructing the public servants.
During hearing of the petition, the compliance affidavit was filed by the Additional Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Shimla, stating that while removing temporary counters made by the shopkeepers outside their shops in Lower Bazar, by encroaching about three feet of street, two shopkeepers/ violators namely Kamal and Ashok Kumar abused the inspecting team. These violators instigated other shopkeepers/hawkers also, for obstructing the entire process and blocked the movement of vehicles of inspecting team wherein articles confiscated by the inspecting staff were kept.
It was stated in the affidavit that the inspecting staff asked the shopkeepers to remove the counters but some of the shopkeepers did not respond to their request and the inspecting staff was left with no option but to confiscate the articles put for sale towards road outside the shops.
The Court observed that though the orders regarding removal of encroachment from Shimla town have been passed in the year 2015, yet, in case any person is aggrieved by those directions, he should have approached the Court for redressal of the grievance instead of obstructing the lawful process being adopted by the officers of the Municipal Corporation.
The matter has been posted to July 2.
