The bench had on May 8 ordered demolition of the five complexes totalling over 300 units in Maradu municipality in a month’s time.The Supreme Court dismissed petitions seeking a review of its order directing demolition of five apartment complexes in Kochi for violating Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.
“Having perused the review petitions and connected papers, we do not find any justifiable reason to entertain the review petitions,” a bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Navin Sinha ruled on Wednesday.
The petitions were heard in chamber and the order was uploaded on the court’s official website on Thursday. The bench had on May 8 ordered demolition of the five complexes totalling over 300 units in Maradu municipality in a month’s time.
Flat owners contended that as per current CRZ norms, they did not fall in the exclusion zone. But the court did not agree and said as per CRZ norms which existed when the apartments were constructed, they were in the restricted zone. The order came on petitions filed by the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority.
Recently, the matter had become a bone of contention with a Justice Mishra-led bench expressing serious displeasure over another bench staying the demolition. Hearing a fresh plea by several flat owners who said they had not been heard by a committee which drew up the report on the alleged violations, a bench of a Justices Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi had on June 10, when the court was in summer recess, stayed the demolition.
