Case adjourned for September 27 as judge not available
The case pertaining to palatial bungalow of former J&K deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh, which was allegedly constructed at a disputed site in violation of building laws of the Jammu Development Authority, was on Tuesday adjourned for September 27 due to non-availability of the bench at the J&K Special Tribunal, Jammu.
“The much publicised appeal preferred by Mamta Singh, wife of Nirmal Singh, against the JDA’s demolition notice regarding the alleged illegal construction of a palatial house at Ban village in Nagrota was adjourned today for September 27 due to non-availability of the Bench-II at J&K Special Tribunal, Jammu, because the presiding judicial member of the bench has been elevated as the additional judge of the High Court of J&K and Ladakh (Justice Rajesh Sekhri) and the case was simply adjourned for want of the presiding officer,” said advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed.
Nirmal Singh and his wife Mamta Singh were issued a notice under Section 7(3) of the Control of Building Operations Act,1988, for construction of a palatial bungalow at Ban without seeking prior permission from Jammu Development Authority.
“The JDA initially did not act against the former deputy chief minister and later, on an RTI application, it disclosed that despite being informed about the alleged illegal construction, it did not proceed against the high-profile violators. Subsequently, on the complaint of whistle-blower, the JDA issued a demolition notice to Nirmal Singh and his wife, directing them to remove the illegal construction on their own within five days,” he added.
Against the said demolition notice, Mamta had filed a statutory appeal before the J&K special tribunal, which put a stay on the demolition notice.
On April 12 this year, a bench of Central Information Commission, New Delhi, headed by the information commissioner had directed CBI to furnish a revised reply explaining current status and action taken on a complaint filed by Jammu lawyer Shakeel Ahmed on September 21, 2020.