The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would start, from April 2, final hearing on validity of the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006 and subsequent legislation, which protects unauthorised construction from being sealed in the national capital.
A division bench of Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta was told by the Central government it would file a reply "justifying" the 2006 law within a period of three weeks.
It also said that it had nothing to do with the sealing as it was for the municipal bodies in Delhi to look into it and the government was concerned with the law.
Posting the matter to April 2, the court said: "For a proper management of the cases, we make it clear that we do not propose to hear any counsel on behalf of the petitioners.
"If there are any submissions that they wish to make, they may do so through the amicus. We will, of course, hear the Union of India, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Delhi Government and the corporations."
In December last, while expressing concern over rampant illegal construction in Delhi, the apex court had said that the authorities do not appear to have carried out their statutory duties in preventing illegal construction and ordered restoration of its 2006 monitoring committee to identify and seal such offending structures.
The court was hearing several pleas seeking relief from the ongoing sealing drive.
In December 2017, the union cabinet had approved the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Bill, 2017, extending the immunity to illegal constructions in Delhi, and preventing their demolition or sealing till December 31, 2020.
--IANS
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