Shut banks, hospitals in Noida's residential areas: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has asked banks, hospitals and other commercial institutions operating in Noida’s residential areas to immediately shut operations. Commercial activities cannot be carried out from plots developed for residential purpose, the court ruled in a significant order on Monday.

“Banking or nursing homes or any other commercial activity is not permitted in Sector 19 and for that matter, in any sector, in the development area earmarked for residential use,” a bench comprising justices Swatanter Kumar and Ranjana Prakash Desai said. The SC said the ‘misuse’ of the residential plot be stopped forthwith and its order should be complied within two months.

“21 banks and the nursing homes, operating in Sector 19 or any other residential sector, shall close their activity forthwith, stop misuse and put the premises to residential use alone, within two months from the date of pronouncement of this judgment,” the bench said.

Lessees of the plots shall ensure that the occupant banks, nursing homes, companies or persons carrying on any commercial activity in the residential sector should stop such activity and shift the same to the appropriate sectors – commercial pockets in industrial institutional area and specified pockets for commercial use within the residential sector, earmarked for such activity in the development plan, regulations and provisions of the Act.

The verdict upheld the decision of the Allahabad HC, which had dismissed the bunch of petitions challenging the order of the Noida Authority not permitting the use of residential plots for commercials purpose or mixed use. Another bench of the Supreme Court agreed to examine the validity of the monitoring committee appointed by it to oversee sealing of unauthorised business & commercial premises in Delhi’s residential localities.

A bench of justices GS Singhvi and Swatanter Kumar agreed to examine the legality of the court-appointed panel after senior counsel Mukul Rohtagi, appearing for Hotel Ambassador, challenged the authority under which the monitoring committee was appointed by the apex court in 2006.

The SC told MCD counsel Sanjib Sen to ensure that the sealing drive was not implemented by the monitoring committee till the next date of hearing, the first week of January 2012. Rohtagi told the bench that “the Supreme Court does not have powers to appoint the monitoring committee as it was not permissible under law”.