CHANDIGARH, July 10 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court deferred contempt proceedings against Deputy Commissioners across Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh after it was informed that efforts had finally begun to implement long-standing Supreme Court directives on the removal of illegal religious structures from public land.
The relief for administrative heads comes less than three months after the court issued contempt notices for what it termed persistent non-compliance with apex court orders, first issued over a decade ago. A Bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry acknowledged that the states and the Union Territory had shown “bona fides” by preparing district-wise affidavits that are expected to be formally submitted this week.
“Affidavits regarding compliance with the directions of removal of unauthorized religious structures on public land are complete and shall be filed during the course of this week,” the Bench recorded.
The contempt proceedings stem from Supreme Court judgments in Union of India v. State of Gujarat and others, dated September 29, 2009, and January 31, 2018. The top court had directed that all unauthorized religious structures encroaching on government land be removed and had authorized High Courts to initiate contempt action in case of non-compliance.
Earlier, during a previous hearing, the Bench had remarked sharply on the decade-long delay. “It has been more than 10-15 years and the status report filed by the States of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh reveal that compliance is yet not complete,” the court had observed.
In today’s hearing, counsel for the UT Chandigarh reported significant progress. “Eighty-seven illegal religious structures have been removed in the last four months,” the counsel submitted. Punjab and Haryana also informed the court that consolidated status reports, accompanied by affidavits from all Deputy Commissioners, were in the final stages of preparation.
The court, while adjourning the matter, made it clear that this was not the end of scrutiny. It stated the proceedings would be resumed on the next date to assess “actual ground-level implementation” and verify the claims made in the affidavits.
The High Court had previously issued notices to every Deputy Commissioner, requiring them to explain why contempt action should not be taken against them for failing to execute the Supreme Court’s orders.
The matter will now return to the Bench once the affidavits are formally filed, setting the stage for a fresh review of compliance on the ground.
