Supreme Court orders Kerala govt to demolish Maradu flat by Sept 20

The Supreme Court today gave the Kerala government a deadline of September 20 to demolish the flat built at Maradu, Ernakulam district in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone guidelines. A compliance report has to be filed in the Supreme Court by the said date failing which the Chief Secretary of Kerala has to be present in Court on September 23..The order was passed by a Bench of Justice Arun Mishra and MR Shah after the Bench took up the matter on its own motion for compliance..On a previous date of hearing in the case, the Court had come down heavily upon the petitioners and their Senior Counsel for playing a ‘fraud on the court” in the Maradu Demolition case..What irked the Bench was that the petitioners had obtained a stay order against the demolition from another Bench of Supreme Court during the court vacation..In the aftermath of the Kerala Floods, the Supreme Court had in May this year had directed for the removal of all illegal structures built on the notified Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) at the Maradu municipality of Kerala’s Ernakulam district..While ordering the same, the Court observed that construction in CRZ areas can be allowed only after consultation with the Coastal Zone Management Authority..A review petition was later filed against this judgment by Holy Faith Builders and Developers, the builder of one of the apartment buildings on the concerned land. The review stated that the judgment was based on the incorrect understanding that the constructions are made in areas notified as CRZ III, when in fact they were constructed in compliance with the CRZ norms..Note: An earlier version of the story incorrectly mentioned that the Chief Secretary has been summoned on September 23. The Chief Secretary needs to be present in court only if compliance report is not filed by September 20. The error is regretted..[Read Order]