Delhi HC bars builder from further construction on property

The Delhi high court, in an urgent intervention on Sunday, barred a builder in south Delhi from undertaking any construction on a property, after a neighbouring building saw a wall collapse and another’s foundation tilted. Justice Anup J Bhambhani requested the director of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, to send a structural engineer to examine the property in Greater Kailash-II, after neighbours alleged their houses suffered extensive damage due to the construction activity. HC said the engineer will assess risk to neighbouring houses from excavation/ construction and suggest immediate steps that can be taken to prevent risk of damage or collapse of neighbouring buildings. “I am satisfied that prima facie there is structural damage to the petitioner’s property as also to the neighbouring property on the other side. It is also evident that if the respondent (builder) is not restrained from carrying out further construction in this manner, serious damage to property and possible harm to life and limb may result to people living in and around subject property,” Justice Bhambhani noted after an urgent hearing on a Sunday.