Supreme Court takes suo motu cognisance of murder of PWD official in Kasauli

The Supreme Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of the murder of a woman assistant town planner, who was shot dead by a hotel owner during an apex court-ordered demolition drive at Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh.

A Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta expressed their shock at the death of Shailbala Sharma on Tuesday, saying this is a “serious issue” in which a government official has been killed for doing her duty in compliance with the order of the highest court.

The court is likely to hear the case on May 3. The Supreme Court on April 17 ordered the demolition of illegal constructions at several hotels and resorts in the picturesque Himachal Pradesh town of Kasauli, saying the life of people cannot be endangered for making money.

The apex court had observed that the illegal constructions had put the entire city in danger, causing landslides, and ordered the demolition of such constructions.

The court had said that some hotels and resorts were supposed to construct only two-storeyed buildings but six-storeyed ones existed there.

“There was landslide in your premises and you did nothing. You are putting the life of people to danger. For what? Money,” the Bench observed while hearing the plea filed by one of the hotels.

Owners of several hotels, resorts and guest houses in Kasauli had approached the apex court challenging the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order to demolish or close down several such establishments which were extended illegally without approvals.

During the hearing, an advocate, representing some of the hotels, admitted the existence of unauthorised constructions.

The Bench had given an ultimatum to the owners: “Either you demolish it (unauthorised constructions) or we will ask the authorities to demolish it. It is your choice. No instructions are needed. Let the authorities demolish it.”

The NGT, in its order, had directed demolition of temporary structures of several hotels including Bird’s View Resort, Hotel Pine View, Narayani Guest House, Hotel Neelgiri, Hotel Divshikha and AAA Guest House.

It had also imposed hefty fines on many of them for causing irretrievable damage to the ecology, polluting the environment and raising unauthorised constructions. The NGT order had come on a plea by an NGO, Society for Preservation of Kasauli and its Environs (SPOKE).