Temple Built Without Sanction on Nursery School Land Cannot Continue: Delhi High Court Rejects Regularisation Plea

The DDA granted a perpetual lease to the American Embassy Employees Co-Operative Housing Society to develop Priyadarshini Vihar, with sites in Blocks A and B earmarked for nursery schools (para 2). The society sought the Block A site for a temple; the petitioner, a separate religious society, applied in 1988 (paras 3-4). It built the temple in 1991-92 without any change of land use or sanction (para 6). The petitioner said the DDA approved the allotment in 2016; a Division Bench ordered fresh consideration in 2017 (paras 7-8). By Minutes dated 31.12.2021, the DDA refused regularisation because Nazul land for socio-cultural-religious use is to be auctioned (para 9). The petitioner invoked Rule 5 of the Nazul land rules and offered to pay the costs (paras 11-12).

The DDA's stand was that, under the 2021 Gazette notification, land is no longer allotted for any purpose and is auctioned for health, education, socio-cultural and sports facilities, and that the petitioner may bid even for religious purposes (paras 13-14). The Court found no infirmity in that stand. The authority has taken a policy decision to dispose of all Nazul lands by auction, and the purpose is to optimise revenue and to plan the development of the NCT of Delhi (para 15). The temple had admittedly been constructed without sanction and contrary to the disposal of the Nazul lands; it was therefore "clearly an illegal structure" which "cannot be permitted to continue" (para 16). The land had in any case been allotted for the nursery school, that purpose remained, and there had been no change of use (para 16). Nothing prevented the petitioner from taking part in a fresh auction for any other plot for running the temple, which the DDA would decide under its auction rules (para 17). The petition was dismissed on that basis, with a direction on the idols (paras 18-19).