Prerna Gala
Published on: September 13, 2022 at 20:52 IST
On SCBA’s request to convert buildings across Bhagwan Das Road into lawyer’s chambers, the Supreme Court declines to issue a notice.
On Monday, the Supreme Court gave notice of a petition asking it to order the Ministry of Urban Development to build legal chamber blocks on the full 1.33-acre parcel of property that was recently allocated to the Top Court and is located behind a gas station next to ITO on the Ring Road.
However, the Court declined to give notice on the additional requests made in the petition to designate the entire area surrounding the Supreme Court as the Supreme Court Complex so that all the buildings across the Supreme Court on Bhagwan Das Road, including the Foreign Correspondents Club, Indian Law Institute (“ILI”), Indian Society of International Law (“ISIL”), etc., could be utilized for either being converted into chambers or being redeveloped as chamber buildings.
Another request was made to instruct the Union Ministry to provide the SCBA access to the government bungalow that is currently inhabited by the Foreign Correspondents Club, but the Court again declined to give notice.
A bench made up of Chief Justice UU Lalit and Justice Ravindra Bhat heard the case.
The bench asked how the other buildings could be sold to make room for the lawyers’ chambers right away.
The Indian Law Institute was established as a deemed institution to support the Supreme Court, Justice Bhat said.
“It’s a deemed university(ILI) Mr. Singh. If you understand the remit of ILI, it was to assist the court. Which other body of professionals can we assist like this and tell the State to divest their lands? To what lengths will we go?”, Justice Bhat said.