Himachal HC stays operation of food court in Shimla’s Heritage Town Hall

The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Wednesday in an interim order told Shimla Municipal Corporation to stop operation of the ‘food court’—named High-End Coffee — in the Town Hall, a heritage landmark on the Mall Road in Shimla.

The division bench, consisting of Chief Justice M S Ramachandran Rao and Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua delivered a 44-page order, highlighting the significance of preserving the historical landmarks, which holds great value for the public at large.

The court further observed that irreparable loss and injury shall be caused to the heritage property and in turn to the public at large in case respondents (private promoters) are permitted to continue to run the food court there.

The bench directed the Commissioner of Municipal Corporation Shimla to ensure immediate compliance of this order.

The petitioner, Abhimanyu Rathore—a high court lawyer, had filed a plea against the Himachal Pradesh government, Shimla Municipal Corporation, and the Devyani group, which operates the food court at the heritage Shimla Town Hall.

The court acknowledged the Town Hall as a coveted historical landmark renovated at great cost with funding from the Asian Development Bank.

The bench asked the Heritage Committee to thoroughly examine all aspects related to the use of the ground floor of the Town Hall, and requested the cooperation of concerned authorities. The case will be listed for next hearing on March 14, 2024.