NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today said that the "unfortunate death" of a woman government official, allegedly shot dead by a hotel owner in Kasauli during a demolition drive, was the result of "non-implementation of the law".
The apex court, while seeking the status of investigation in the case, directed the Himachal Pradesh government to apprise it about the steps taken to ensure that no unauthorised constructions were carried out in the entire state.
A bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta also asked the state to inform it about the implementation status of the apex court's order regarding demolition of unauthorised constructions in 13 hotels at Kasauli.
"The death is not a result of the court's order. It is a result of the non-implementation of the law. The incident is very unfortunate. You have to ensure rule of law and implementation of law related to unauthorised constructions," the bench told the counsel appearing for the state.
The apex court asked the state to file an affidavit giving details sought by it and posted the matter for further hearing on May 9.
The apex court had on April 17 directed the state government to demolish unauthorised structures in several hotels and guest houses in Kasauli and Dharampur areas of Solan and four teams were constituted by the authorities to carry out the work.
Assistant Town and Country Planner Shail Bala Sharma had on May 1 gone to supervise the demolition of unauthorised construction at Kasauli's Narayani Guest House where its owner Vijay Singh allegedly shot at her.
She later succumbed to injuries.
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Demolition drive: Town planner shot dead in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh