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Vivek Srivastava v. Union Of India Thru' Secy. Ministry Of Defence & Ors.

País/Territorio
India
Tipo de la corte
Nacional - corte superior
Fecha
Apr 12, 2005
Fuente
UNEP, InforMEA
Nombre del tribunal
High Court of Allahabad
Juez
Yog, A.K.
Tarun Agarwala.
Número de referencia
2005 (3) AWC 2897
Idioma
Inglés
Materia
Cuestiones jurídicas, Medio ambiente gen., Tierra y suelos
Palabra clave
Conservación del ecosistema Manejo de tierras Bosques recreativos Participación pública Agua de uso recreativo
Resumen
the petitioners contended that the respondents were planning to construct residential buildings in the "Polo Ground" which had remained an open land for the last hundred years. The petitioner alleged that the polo ground acted as the lungs for the citizens of Allahabad and if the residential buildings were allowed to be constructed thereon, the “lungs” would get choked. Further, the constructions would disturb the ecology and create a serious imbalance in the environment of the city. The questions of importance which have arisen for consideration are: Does a member of the public and a resident of the city of Allahabad have a right to object to the change in the user of the land which has been in existence as an open piece of land for the last hundred years and which has acted as the lungs of the city? Does the petitioner, being a citizen of this city, have a locus standi to raise issues of ecology, and protection of the environment on account of the change in the user of the land as undertaken by the military authorities in trying to convert the open piece of land into a concrete residential duplex complex? Is the petitioner, being a citizen of this city, aggrieved by such a diversion and construction of residential buildings? Do the citizens of Allahabad have a fundamental right to free and healthy air in eco friendly surroundings for the full enjoyment of life as envisaged under Article 21 of the Constitution of India? Taking up the issue of maintainability of the writ petition and the locus standi of the petitioner in filing the present writ petition, it is well settled, that a person acting bonafide and who has a sufficient interest in the proceedings is competent to file a writ petition and has a locus standi to approach the Court and wipe out the violation of the fundamental rights and/or the infraction of the statutory provisions of law. Based on the doctrine of Public Interest Litigation and the rule governing the locus standi, as enunciated by the Supreme Court in various decisions, the Court held, that the petitioner had bonafidely approached this Court in larger interest and to safeguard the fundamental rights of the residents of the city,and has a locus standi to file a Public Interest Litigation. By allowing the construction, the residents of the area as well as other citizens of the city would be deprived of the quality of life which they are entitled to under the Constitution. Accepting these contentions, the Allahabad High Court held: "the land in question known as 'Old Polo Ground' should not be used for the residential construction for the married accommodation project for the married officers of the Army" in order to maintain an ecological balance and protecting human rights, also to to maintain open spaces for disaster management plan. Consequently, a writ of mandamus was issued to the respondents, restraining them from making any construction on the Polo ground and maintain it as an open piece of land.
Texto completo
COU-156276.pdf