Delhi HC imposes costs of 1 lakh on Reliance in Le Meridien Case

The Delhi High Court imposed costs of Rs. 1 lakh on Reliance Industries while dismissing its petition seeking to set aside the decision of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to initiate the eviction process against the Le Meridien Hotel..NDMC’s Estate Officer had issued a letter dated July 18, 2017 to CJ International Hotels (operator of the Le Meridien Hotel) whereby the case was fixed under Sections 5 and 7 of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act. CJ International has been in a dispute with the NDMC over the alleged failure to pay dues amounting to more than 600 crore..The petitioner, Reliance Industries, is one of the occupants of the commercial tower of the iconic hotel in New Delhi..The Single Judge Bench of Justice J R Midha stated that the petitioners have no locus to challenge the letter dated 18th July, 2017 issued by the NDMC to CJ International, and therefore the petition is not maintainable..It was observed by the Bench,.“This Court is of the view that this writ petition is gross abuse and misuse of the process of law as the petitioners want to stall the eviction proceedings initiated by New Delhi Municipal Council against M/s. C.J. International Hotels Ltd. who are contesting the eviction proceedings before the Estate Officer..This writ petition appears to be a proxy litigation which is clear from the letter dated 21st September, 2017 in pursuance to which petitioner No.2 association has been formed to make a collective effort to put a united front against NDMC.”.The Court therefore directed Reliance Industries to deposit Rs. 1 lakh with the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee within a period of 10 days..Read the order:.Click here to download the Bar & Bench Android App