HC criticises authorities over delay in housing for judicial officials | Delhi News – The Times of India

New Delhi: Delhi govt and Delhi Development Authority must realise the need for judges to have decent living conditions and “view the same with some expected sensitivity”, the high court said on Thursday, warning them not “to test the court’s patience”.
It chided Delhi govt and DDA over their failure to make progress in the construction of official residences for district judicial officials and lamented that it had to “virtually beg”. A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela also noted that its “request has fallen on deaf ears” and summoned DDA’s director concerned at the next hearing.
The court granted three weeks to govt to decide on the release of funds meant for flats in Dwarka, where a building constructed for around Rs 40 crore had to be demolished due to substandard and faulty construction. It also sought an affidavit on the steps taken for compliance with its orders, including the availability of alternate flats for judicial officials.
“We have to virtually beg. The court has recorded its request in one of its orders… Don’t push us to the wall… We are only short of summoning the officers now, and every department is testing our patience, and that distance is just a few millimetres. It is for both central and state govts. Apprise all the departments and officers about this. They should not test the court’s patience like this,” the high court warned.
It was irked that though DDA had earlier said land was allotted for flats at CBD ground in Shahdara, no formal allotment letter was issued yet, delaying any decision by Delhi govt for the construction. Even as the DDA counsel assured the court that the letter would be issued within two weeks, the bench specified that funds must be released once the letter is issued.
The court was hearing petitions filed by Judicial Service Association, which sought a direction to expedite the availability of govt residential homes to Delhi judicial service and Delhi higher judicial services officials. They cited a shortfall of residential flats and claimed two alternate spaces in Rohini and Anand Vihar were available, which DDA said was under consideration.
The bench asked the authorities to consider the proposal, keeping in mind the directions passed by Supreme Court on the issue. “Any laxity on their part in taking the decision contrary to the directions and observations of Supreme Court may be viewed with requisite seriousness by the court,” it said.