NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has issued notice to the deputy commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and directed senior engineers to appear in person after finding that a status report filed in a property dispute case was not in compliance with its earlier directions.
While hearing a civil suit related to the demolition of an unauthorised disputed property, Senior Civil Judge-cum-Rent Controller Animesh Bhaskar Mani Tripathi, in an order dated February 17, said, “Court notice be issued to the deputy commissioner, MCD, calling upon him to either file a proper status report in compliance with the order dated December 2, 2025, or remain personally present before this court on the next date of hearing.”
Earlier, the defendants had been restrained from carrying out further construction at the disputed property.
On December 2, 2025, the court had observed that the status report filed by the MCD was “cursory and mechanical” and merely a formality. It then sought written explanations from the executive engineer, assistant engineer and junior engineer, duly forwarded by the deputy commissioner, along with an updated report by February 17.
However, the report filed on February 17 bore only the signatures of the assistant and junior engineers and was neither accompanied by written explanations nor forwarded by the deputy commissioner.
“Perusal of the record clearly reveals that the status report filed today is not in compliance… and cannot be treated as a proper or valid report,” the court said.
The court refused to vacate the interim relief, stating that in the absence of a proper report, the plea could not be considered. It directed officials to appear in person, and ordered that the interim stay on the property will continue till April 18.