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Under the judicial scanner

There was no mistaking the mood of the Supreme Court during the hearing of the public interest litigation challenging the controversial Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006. While giving the Centre a week to reply to the petitions, the apex body left no one in doubt about what it thought of the Act and the circumstances that led to its legislative birth. Describing the Act as "wholly void and illegal," the two-member Bench observed it was a "pure and simple legislation aimed at overruling the orders of this Court." The strong exception that the Supreme Court has taken to the Act — which placed a one-year moratorium on the demolition of unauthorised constructions and the sealing of commercial establishments in residential areas in the Capital — is wholly understandable. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi was only acting on judicial orders when it conducted the vigorous demolition and sealing drive that the Act put a stop to. The hasty manner in which the extraordinary legislation was conceived and passed suggested it could have one main purpose: the cynical circumvention of the court-ordered drive against illegal constructions. The manner in which the Centre has tried to subvert the demolition and sealing drive reflects very poorly on itself. A few months ago, it ordered that the sealing of premises need not resume as it intended to seek a six-month stay on this from the Supreme Court. Having filed an application in the Court to this effect, the Centre suddenly withdrew it without informing the court about its plan to introduce the controversial legislation.

While Parliament is the supreme law-making body, the tendency of the political class to circumvent well-intentioned court orders through the introduction of ill-conceived legislation is an unhealthy feature of our democracy. Parliament's wide-ranging powers should not be invoked for passing legislation with mala fide intent or which clearly is contrary to the letter and spirit of the Constitution. The Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act sends out a dangerous signal — that violators can get away with their illegal acts with the blessing of the legislature. It also raises serious doubts about the Government's commitment to stand up to powerful commercial interests that routinely flout land use norms. Illegal constructions have gone on unchecked for a very long time and the Centre has a valid point when it says the issue is much too complex and sensitive to be dealt with by demolition alone. While the Supreme Court was keen on targeting the "big fish" — influential builders and corrupt officials — the demolition drive had serious implications for the poor, a fair number of whom live on encroached land. The challenge before the Centre's is to work out a strategy that is at once rational, humane, and in keeping with the broad spirit of the Capital's master plan. It was never to buy itself time through a hastily passed law that ran the risk of becoming the basis for letting the construction lobby and rich traders off the hook

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