HC stops North MCD from razing 55-yr-old public library

The Delhi high court on Wednesday restrained the North Delhi Municipal Corporation from demolishing a 55-year-old branch of the Delhi Public Library till its further order. A Bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal, however, said that the library at Karol Bagh in Central Delhi, “shall be kept closed and nobody shall be permitted to enter the premises till further order”.

“There will be a stay of the order of the demolition by the North MCD till the next date of hearing — December 5,” the Bench said, adding that the authorities shall file their reply by that time.

The order came on a plea filed by some scholars and journalists, who have moved against the NDMC’s two notices to the Delhi Public Library in Karol Bagh to vacate the premises claiming that the building was structurally unfit and dangerous. The library has been issued two notices, one on September 15 and the other on November 4, asking them to vacate so that the building could be demolished. Seeking quashing of the notices, the petitioners have alleged that the owner of the premises, Dimple Enterprises, “wants a commercial complex to come up in place of this library in order to make money from this land”.

“The North MCD has been manipulated by using corrupt practices to declare the premises as dangerous now, while in 2011, the same MCD had certified the building as safe provided minor maintenance is continued. Still the library building is being demolished due to pressure and corrupt tactics by the owners,” the plea said.