Rachna Jain Vs Municipal Corporation of Delhi — Delhi HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

Rachna Jain Vs Municipal Corporation of Delhi — Delhi HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Liberty to the petitioner to approach the Appellate Tribunal, MCD (ATMCD) within two (2) weeks; interim protection whereby no coercive action shall be taken by the respondent/MCD till ATMCD considers the matter, including any application for interim stay.

Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner should be given time to invoke the statutory remedy of appeal before the Appellate Tribunal, MCD (ATMCD) in respect of the demolition action and vacation order concerning the petitioner's property, with interim protection from coercive action in the meantime. +1 more

Court's answer

The writ petition is disposed of, with liberty given to the petitioner to approach the Appellate Tribunal, MCD (ATMCD); the petitioner shall approach ATMCD within two (2) weeks.

Ratio / Principle

Till the time ATMCD considers the matter, including any application for interim stay, no coercive action shall be taken by the respondent/MCD.

Key takeaways

It is clarified that this Court has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case.obiter¶19

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Delhi High Court (Hon'ble Mr. Justice Amit Bansal), order dated 09.03.2026 in W.P.(C) 2982/2026 (Rachna Jain v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi), taken up on urgent mentioning: Demolition action had been carried out at the petitioner's property on 18.09.2023; petitioner's counsel claimed no Show Cause Notice or demolition order was served before or after that date, which MCD's counsel disputed, asserting due service and stating that fresh action was planned for 09.03.2026 in terms of this Court's order dated 27.02.2026 in W.P.(C) 2758/2026 (Vijay Kumar Kholia v. MCD & Ors.). A vacation order dated 02.03.2026, posted at the premises on 06.03.2026, had directed vacation within 24 hours. The Court disposed of the writ petition, granting liberty to invoke the statutory remedy of appeal before the Appellate Tribunal, MCD (ATMCD) within two weeks, and directed that no coercive action be taken by MCD till ATMCD considers the matter, including any application for interim stay; the Court expressly clarified that it had not expressed any opinion on the merits.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

- W.P.(C) 2982/2026, CM APPL. 14391/2026 & CM APPL. 14392/2026

RACHNA JAIN .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Vinod Kumar Mantoo, Mr. Hem Kumar and Ms. Niharika Mantoo, Advocates.

versus MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF DELHI .....Respondent Through: Ms. Shilpa Dewan, Advocate for MCD. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT BANSAL

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O R D E R 09.03.2026

The matter has been listed as per the urgent mentioning and has been taken up for hearing at 4:30 PM.

The present writ petition has been filed seeking the following reliefs:-

Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submits that demolition action against the petitioner’s property took place on 18^th September, 2023 and after that, no further Show Cause Notice or demolition orders have been

W.P.(C) 2982/2026

Page 1 of 2

This is a digitally signed order.

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 11/03/2026 at 10:42:28

served upon the petitioner. He further submits that no Show Cause Notice/demolition order was received by the petitioner prior to 18^th September 2023 as well.

Ms. Shilpa Dewan, counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent/MCD, refutes the aforesaid submission and submits that Show Cause Notice and demolition order were duly served upon the petitioner. She submits that action has been planned on 9^th March 2026 in terms of the order passed by this Court on 27^th February 2026 in W.P.(C) 2758/2026 titled as “Vijay Kumar Kholia v. MCD & Ors.”

Having heard the counsel for the parties, it would be in the interest of justice if the petitioner is given some time to invoke his statutory remedy of appeal. It cannot be disputed that the last demolition action against the property was carried out on 18^th September, 2023 and after that, no further demolition action could be carried out due to various reasons. Now, a vacation order dated 2^nd March 2026 was posted at the premises of the petitioner on 6^th March 2026 to vacate the premises within 24 hours.

In view thereof, the present writ petition is disposed of while giving liberty to the petitioner to approach the Appellate Tribunal, MCD (ATMCD). The petitioner shall approach ATMCD within two (2) weeks from today.

Till the time ATMCD considers the matter, including any application for interim stay, no coercive action shall be taken by the respondent/MCD. 8. It is clarified that this Court has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case.

AMIT BANSAL, J

MARCH 9, 2026/ Vivek/-

W.P.(C) 2982/2026

Page 2 of 2

This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 11/03/2026 at 10:42:28