The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a Madras High Court decision to demolish the top five floors of an eight-story block of Chennai’s Billroth Hospital for violation of the approved building plan, but told the hospital authorities to vacate the floors in 10 days and not use the space for any activity.
A Vacation Bench of Justices Indu Malhotra and M.R. Shah also issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government. The high court had ordered the demolition to commence from June 16.
The apex court said the matter would now come up for hearing post its summer vacation.
On May 30, the apex court had agreed to consider the case after the High Court had recently directed the State government, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) and the Greater Chennai Corporation to raze the top five floors on June 16 under the supervision of amicus curiae T. Mohan.
It had also confirmed an order to cut the power supply to the floors beyond the third floor.
Though the hospital had urged the court to defer the demolition until the consideration of an application to regularise buildings constructed before July 2007, the High Court had said: “It is only a desperate bid to somehow protract the eventual demolition of the unauthorised construction so as to enjoy the illegal gains, indefinitely, at the risk of public safety.”
“A right in law exists only and only when it has a lawful origin and as such, the fortuitous circumstance that the ninth respondent (Billroth Hospitals) had been using the unauthorised constructions in the building unnoticed for more than a decade and without any interference, cannot be of any avail... In view of imminent danger to public safety, it would be illegal and against public interest to permit ninth respondent to continue to use the unauthorised construction,” the High Court had observed.