Appeal in SC against HC’S Vista go-ahead

NEW DELHI: An appeal has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi high court’s refusal to stop construction work at the Central Vista redevelopment project during the pandemic. The May 31 high court order held that the project was of “national importance”, needed to be completed by November 30 this year, and imposed a cost of ₹1 lakh on the petitioners for filing a “motivated” petition.

The petitioners — Anya Malhotra and Sohail Hashmi — were given one month to deposit the amount with the Delhi Legal Services Authority.

Hurt by the observations made by the high court, they said in their appeal: “The judgment, especially the imposition of exorbitant costs, has a chilling effect on public spirited individuals raising genuine issues of public health and on the right of citizens to question the actions of the government and to hold it to account, which it is submitted is the bedrock of democracy.”

Malhotra is a translator working for high-ranking foreign and Indian diplomatic delegations, and Hashmi is a historian and documentary maker. Their appeal said: “The impugned judgment apart from misconstruing the bonafide intention of the petitioners, without cause cast them in a negative light at the cost of their right to reputation.”

The petitioners said their only aim was to raise a public health and safety issue after coming to know that construction work at the redevelopment site was going on at a time when the “catastrophic second wave” of Covid infections was ravaging Delhi.

The Centre told the high court that, on April 19, permission was obtained from the police to ferry nearly 400 workers to the construction site. After May 1, before the petition came to be filed, on-site accommodation was provided to workers.