The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh at Srinagar has dismissed a petition filed by Noor Mohammad Dar challenging the order of the J&K Special Tribunal dated 29 May 2024, which had upheld the regularisation of a minor construction deviation by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC).
The dispute stemmed from a demolition notice issued on 12 May 2022 against Respondent No. 7, Mohammad Farooq Sarfi, for exceeding the sanctioned building area of 1,763 sq. ft. by 118 sq. ft. (about 7%) and not maintaining the prescribed setback. An earlier order of the Tribunal had been quashed by the High Court in December 2023 in a related case, with directions to decide the matter afresh.
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The petitioner argued that the Tribunal, in the fresh order, failed to comply with the High Court’s earlier directions and ignored core issues, including alleged violations of land use norms. It was also contended that the order was passed without proper consideration and in a "hush-hush" manner.
The private respondent, along with the SMC, opposed the plea, raising issues of maintainability and locus standi. They submitted that the deviation was minor, had been compounded under the Unified Building Bye-Laws, 2021, and was regularised through an order dated 19 November 2024. The SMC also pointed out that the petitioner’s representation was made only in June 2024, long after the construction had been halted and the matter adjudicated.
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Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal observed that the Tribunal had duly examined the extent and nature of the deviation, found it compoundable, and directed the SMC to regularise it. The Court emphasised that judicial review under Article 226 cannot re-evaluate factual findings of the Tribunal unless there is illegality, perversity, or procedural irregularity.
On the issue of locus standi, the Court noted that the petitioner was neither a party to the earlier litigation nor directly affected by the deviation, and mere assertions of public interest were insufficient to invoke writ jurisdiction.
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'Mere dissatisfaction with the actions of a statutory authority, in the absence of demonstrable illegality or infringement of rights, cannot form the basis for invoking the extraordinary writ jurisdiction," the Court remarked.
Finding no merit in the allegations, the Court held that the deviation was well within the permissible limit for compounding, had been lawfully regularised, and caused no legal prejudice to the petitioner. The writ petition, along with connected applications, was dismissed.
Case Title:- Noor Mohammad Dar vs. Srinagar Municipal Corporation & Others
Case No.:- WP(C) No. 1499/2024, CM No. 4032/2024
