High rise buildings: CBI gets HC nod to file FIR lTrial in Delhi
SHILLONG: Trouble beckons Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh as the High Court of Meghalaya on Thursday allowed CBI to register an FIR and prosecute her and 21 others including eight MUDA officials for granting permission to 13 persons to construct ‘illegal’ high-rise buildings in the state.
The beneficiaries of this illegal permission include sitting legislator Lamboklang Mylliemngap and his father and prominent businessman Modrick Nongkynrih.
Chief Justice Uma Nath Singh passed the order in response to a PIL filed by a city-based lawyer Jonathan Thangkhiew and others.
After taking up the PIL, a Division Bench on April 11, 2014 had issued an interim stay on further construction of buildings beyond ground floor plus three more floors since the city falls under Seismic Zone 5.
The Chief Justice Uma Nath Singh said in his order based on a criminal petition that the CBI should register the FIR in Delhi and prosecute the accused there since the lower courts in Meghalaya suffer from serious procedural errors and lack of knowledge of law.
In the final order delivered on Thursday, following the earlier orders on October 16 and November 12 related to the matter, the Chief Justice said that the CBI has submitted the final inquiry report and in the findings recorded after holding a detailed preliminary enquiry, the CBI has found inculpatory materials against Ampareen Lyngdoh, Chairperson of Meghalaya Urban Development Authority ( MUDA), and MUDA members F. War, T. Lyngwa, BRM Lyngdoh, K. Wahlang, BPF Lyngdoh, S Shullai, and R Rymbai, and LK Jyrwa “for granting permission for raising illegal construction of high rise buildings beyond ground floor plus three (G+3)” .
The CBI has also found thirteen owners of high rise buildings guilty for availing illegal permission. They are S. Maruf Elahi (Bivar Road), Saini Pala (Motinagar), Nirmalendu Das, Amalendu Das and Sishir Das, Prakash Chand Patni (Jail Road), Kenneth Mathew Lyngdoh (Bivar Road), Sanjay Jhunjhunwalla and Sarita Jhunjhunwalla (Bivar Road), Modrick Nongkynrih (Bishop Cotton Road), BD Marbaniang (Mc Cabe Road, Demseiniong, Laitumkhrah), Lamboklang Mylliemngap (Motinagar)Dr. TA Sohkhlet (Lummawrie, Laitumkhrah) Alan Wood Swer (Fire Brigade, Laitumkhrah), Fidelia Kharkongor Dkhar (Kench’s Trace) and Merita Wahlang ( Nicholas Wahlang, Lachaumiere, Boyce Road) as the beneficiaries of the illegal permission granted by the officers of MUDA.
The CBI after collecting detailed materials during inquiry has placed the report for further order and there was an oral prayer before the Court to grant permission for registration of case and prosecution.
Moreover, the order said that the case seems to be essentially based on documentary evidence which is also extensively referred to in the judgment dated 28.9.2015 passed by the Division Bench.
” Besides, the CBI has already scanned through the relevant materials before pinpointing the aforesaid names, therefore, now the area of investigation appears to be well defined”, the order said.
The Chief Justice pointed that against the judgment and order dated 28.9.2015 directing preliminary enquiry by the CBI in PIL case passed by the High Court Court, the MUDA has filed a Special Leave Petition wherein the Supreme Court, while issuing notice has declined to grant stay.
“Now the decks are clear for the CBI to prosecute the aforesaid persons. However, I would like to make it clear that, since the CBI has already undertaken a detailed preliminary enquiry and submitted a final preliminary report pinpointing the persons involved in the shoddy affairs, it would be open for them to register a case and start investigation against such persons, but certainly not against any other person who is not directly connected with the grant of permission to raise the illegal constructions or is not a direct beneficiary of such permission”, the order said.
The Chief Justice further said that as per the request made by the Investigating Officer during the course of hearing, he granted the permission to CBI to register an FIR and prosecute them.
” However, since the subordinate judiciary in the State of Meghalaya has been separated from the executive very recently and is still at formative stage, and as we have also been noticing serious procedural errors and lack of knowledge of law in the orders of Judicial Officers and further that, this case may require expert handling by experienced Judicial officers, it would be expedient in the interest of justice, and thus, I grant liberty to CBI to register the case at their headquarters, Delhi, and seek liberty from the Supreme Court, if so advised, to prosecute the aforesaid persons in a Delhi Court so that the trial could reach the logical conclusion well within time and to the full satisfaction of the litigants,” the order said.
The Chief Justice also added that Shillong falls under seismic Zone 5 and even very recently, on January 4, there was a major earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale. “Thus, the grant of permission to raise high rise buildings as well as the act of raising such constructions in illegal manner in violation of laws governing the subject matter have to be dealt with firmly”, the order said