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

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

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Petitions disposed of on the basis of MCD's statements, taken on record, that no action will be taken against unauthorised construction without issuance of a show cause notice to the petitioner and that any action will be in accordance with Directions in the Matter of Demolition of Structures, In re, (2025) 5 SCC 1.

Issue for consideration

Whether the respondent/MCD may proceed against the petitioners' residential properties (including demolition of allegedly unauthorised/unstructured construction) without issuing a formal show cause notice and otherwise than in accordance with due process and the Supreme Court's directions in Directions in the Matter of Demolition of Structures, In re, (2025) 5 SCC 1.

Court's answer

The Court took on record the statements of senior counsel for the respondent/MCD that MCD shall not take action against any unauthorised construction without the issuance of a show cause notice to the petitioner, and that any action taken by MCD shall be in accordance with the Supreme Court judgment in Directions in the Matter of Demolition of Structures, In re, (2025) 5 SCC 1.

Ratio / Principle

In view of the statements taken on record, both present writ petitions (W.P.(C) 3398/2026 and W.P.(C) 3412/2026), along with all pending applications, stand disposed of.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Delhi High Court (Amit Bansal, J.) disposed of two connected writ petitions — W.P.(C) 3398/2026 (Shahnaz) and W.P.(C) 3412/2026 (Jarina) — filed against the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. The petitions were filed pursuant to liberty granted by order dated 11.03.2026, when the petitioners' earlier petitions (W.P.(C) 3020/2026 and W.P.(C) 3021/2026) were withdrawn for want of better particulars, and expressed apprehension that MCD sought to demolish the petitioners' properties without due process and contrary to the Supreme Court's judgment in Directions in the Matter of Demolition of Structures, In re, (2025) 5 SCC 1; Ground 'C' stated that no formal show cause notice regarding the residential house being illegally structured had been received. Senior counsel for MCD submitted that MCD shall not take action against any unauthorised construction without issuing a show cause notice to the petitioner and that any action shall be in accordance with the said Supreme Court judgment. The Court took these statements on record and, in view thereof, disposed of the petitions along with all pending applications. Order dated 17.03.2026.

$~73 and 78

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

W.P.(C) 3398/2026, CM APPL. 16325/2026 & CM APPL. 16326/2026

SHAHNAZ .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Divyesh Pratap Singh, Mr. Bharat Mishra, Mr. Amit Sangwan & Ms. Prashantipriya Tiwari, Advocates.

versus

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF DELHI .....Respondent Through: Mr. Sanjay Poddar, Senior Advocate with Mr. Siddhant Nath, Standing Counsel for MCD with Mr. Amaan Khan, Mr. Bhavishya Makhija & Mr. Govind, Advocates for MCD. Mr. Manoj, EE MCD. 78 + W.P.(C) 3412/2026, CM APPL. 16384/2026 & CM APPL. 16385/2026 JARINA .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Divyesh Pratap Singh, Mr. Bharat Mishra, Mr. Amit Sangwan & Ms. Prashantipriya Tiwari, Advocates. versus

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF DELHI .....Respondent Through: Mr. Sanjay Poddar, Senior Advocate with Mr. Siddhant Nath, Standing Counsel for MCD with Mr. Amaan Khan, Mr. Bhavishya Makhija & Mr. Govind, Advocates for MCD. Mr. Manoj, EE MCD.

Page 1 of 3

W.P.(C) 3398/2026 & W.P.(C) 3412/2026

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 20/03/2026 at 13:44:46

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT BANSAL

O R D E R

% 17.03.2026

The present writ petitions have been filed, pursuant to the liberty granted by this Court vide order dated 11^th March 2026, while disposing of the earlier writ petitions, being W.P.(C) 3020/2026 and W.P.(C) 3021/2026, filed by the petitioners. Paragraphs no.3 and 4 of the said order are set out below:

“3. The averments in the petitions are also vague as to whether the properties of the petitioners are encroaching upon the public drain.

4. Accordingly, counsel for the petitioners seeks to withdraw the present writ petitions with liberty to file proper petitions with better particulars within one (1) week from today.”

The present writ petitions have been filed expressing an apprehension that the respondent/MCD seeks to demolish the properties of the petitioners, without following the due process of law, more particularly the judgment of the Supreme Court in Directions in the Matter of Demolition of Structures, In re , (2025) 5 SCC 1.

It is stated in Ground ‘C’ of the petitions that the petitioners have not received any formal show cause notice regarding their residential house being illegally structured.

Mr. Poddar, senior counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent/MCD, submits that MCD shall not take action against any unauthorised construction without the issuance of a show cause notice to the petitioner. He further submits that any action taken by the respondent/MCD shall be in accordance with the judgment of the Supreme Court in

Page 2 of 3

W.P.(C) 3398/2026 & W.P.(C) 3412/2026

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 20/03/2026 at 13:44:46

Directions in the Matter of Demolition of Structures, In re , (2025) 5 SCC

The aforesaid statements are taken on record.

In view of the aforesaid statements, the present petition, along with all pending application(s), stands disposed of.

AMIT BANSAL, J

MARCH 17, 2026

at

Page 3 of 3

W.P.(C) 3398/2026 & W.P.(C) 3412/2026

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 20/03/2026 at 13:44:46