Top Quotes From The Top Court : Supreme Court Weekly Review [January 9-15]

As promised, we bring to you a compilation of the most impactful observations made by the Supreme Court, a judicial ‘action recap’, as it were! Here are our top picks from the week starting from Monday, January 9: 1. Weakness of defence not a justification to take away possession “The defendants cannot be dispossessed unless the plaintiff has established a better title and rights over [a] property. A person in possession of land in the assumed character as the owner, and exercising peaceably the ordinary rights of ownership, has a legal right against the entire world except the rightful owner. A decree of possession cannot be passed in favour of the plaintiff on the ground that defendants have not been able to fully establish their right, title and interest in the property. The defendants, being in possession, would be entitled to protect and save their possession, unless the person who seeks to dispossess them has a better legal right in the form of ownership or entitlement to possession…If both parties fail to adduce evidence, the suit must fail. Onus of proof, no doubt shifts and the shifting is a continuous process in the evaluation of evidence, but this happens when in a suit for title and possession, the plaintiff has been able to create a high degree of probability to shift the onus on the defendant. In the absence of such evidence, the burden of proof lies on the plaintiff and can be discharged only when he is able to prove title. The weakness of the defence cannot be a justification to decree the suit.” [Justice Sanjiv Khanna in Smriti Debbarma (Dead) v. Prabha Ranjan Debbarma, 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 19] 2. Responsibility on state to preserve heritage status of La Corbusier’s Chandigarh “Chandigarh has done remarkably well, offering striking monumental architecture, a grid of self-contained neighbourhoods, more trees than perhaps any Indian city and a way of life that juggles tradition with modernity…It has been recommended that to prevent undue change or damage to the historic and cultural value of Le Corbusier’s urbanism, interim orders must not be issued to make any modifications in the heritage areas approved by the Government of India, the circulation structure, the generic sector, architectural control and the plantations. Judicial notice can be taken of the creation of the city of Brasilia as the capital of Brazil. The city was planned by urban planner Lucio Costa and architect Oscar Niemeyer. It will be interesting to note that while planning the said city, urban living as promoted by Le Corbusier and his treatise titled ‘How to Conceive Urbanism’ served as an inspiration. It is worthwhile to note that in spite of various changes, Lucio Costa’s Pilot Project (Plano Piloto) still remains preserved…Similar steps have been taken for protecting the White City of Tel-Aviv and the city of Le Havre, rebuilt by Auguste Perret. We find that similar steps need to be taken by the Chandigarh Administration as well as the Government of India for protecting the heritage status of Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh…A responsibility is cast upon the State as well as the citizens to protect and conserve the heritage. Undisputedly, Phase-I of Chandigarh, i.e., Corbusian Chandigarh possesses a heritage status. The CMP-2031 itself emphasizes that Chandigarh should be included in the UNESCO’s World Heritage List due to its outstanding universal value. The fragmentation/apartmentalization of residential units in Phase-I of Chandigarh is destructive of the vision of Le Corbusier. It is also opposed to the concept of protecting and preserving the heritage status of Corbusian Chandigarh. As such, it is necessary that the respondent-authorities must take every possible step for preserving the heritage status of Corbusian Chandigarh.” [Justice B.R. Gavai in Residents Welfare Association & Anr. v. The Union Territory of Chandigarh & Ors., 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 24] 3. EIA for preventing harmful effects of haphazard urbanisation “The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) notes in its publication titled ‘Integrating the Environment in Urban Planning and Management – Key Principles and Approaches for Cities in the 21st Century’ that more than half of the world’s population is now living in urban areas. It further noted that by the year 2050, more than half of Africa and Asia’s population will live in towns and cities. It recognized that City Development Strategies (CDSs) have shown how to integrate environmental concerns in long-term city visioning exercises. It states that environmental mainstreaming can help to incorporate relevant environmental concerns into the decisions of institutions, while emerging ideas about the green urban economy show how density can generate environmental and social opportunities. It states that the strategies need to be underpinned with governance structures that facilitate integration of environmental...

Top Quotes From The Top Court : Supreme Court Weekly Review [January 9-15]

Awstika Das

Our top picks from the most impactful observations made by the Supreme Court in the second week of January.

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