In a stinging rebuke, the Supreme Court on Tuesday tore into the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for sitting idle while residential homes in Chandni Chowk quietly sprouted shopfronts, morphing an iconic neighborhood into an unchecked commercial jungle.
“No more,” declared a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and NK Singh, firmly halting any further conversion of homes into commercial properties. And this wasn’t a mere warning — the Court hinted at looming criminal contempt action against MCD officials if they dared to let another brick be laid in defiance.
“If even one more house is converted into a commercial complex, we won’t just call it negligence — we’ll call it collusion,” the bench warned, suggesting a deep rot within the civic machinery.
The courtroom drama unfolded over a petition flagging rampant illegal construction in Chandni Chowk. But when lawyers representing the respondents tried to pass off the commercial facades as “old structures,” Justice Kant didn’t buy it.
“An entire residential neighborhood has been gutted and repackaged as a market—and you still have the gall to call it old construction?” he snapped.
The defence took a desperate turn when the counsel pointed out that the petitioner wasn’t even an Indian citizen. The Court didn’t blink.
“So what if she isn’t Indian? That gives you license to bulldoze heritage and inconvenience thousands? Technicalities won’t shield this blatant abuse,” Justice Kant fired back.
The Court wasn’t done. It lambasted MCD’s silence in the face of active demolitions and fresh construction as recently as mid-February.
“Homes are being razed while your eyes are tightly shut. You’re not just asleep at the wheel—you’ve thrown the steering away,” the bench observed, unimpressed by the civic body’s excuses.
With the MCD yet to file a report on the situation, the Court gave them one week to get their act together. Meanwhile, the petitioner was asked to propose names of distinguished engineers and architects for a Joint Inspection Committee, expected to provide an independent review of the damage and status quo.
The matter is now scheduled for hearing again on May 23 — but not before the Court made it clear that if the city’s watchdogs continue playing blind, justice might have to bite.