Ajay Singh Rawat vs Union Of India & Others @ RESPONDENT

Mr. Vinod Kumar Suman, District Magistrate, Nainital; Mr. Janmejay Khanduri, Senior Superintendent of Police, Nainital; Mr. Harbeer Singh,

Secretary, Nainital District Development Authority and Mr. Rohitash Sharma, Executive Officer, Municipal Board, Nainital are present in person.

The work of laying down of optical fiber cable is still going on in Nainital.Certain directions were made by this Court vide orders dated 14.12.2017,

20.03.2018 and 02.04.2018 to regulate the laying down of these optical fiber cable as the same was causing hindrance to the general public and,

particularly, to the students at the time of opening and closing of their schools at Nainital.Vide order dated 20.03.2018 it was directed that the District

Magistrate shall ensure that the work is completed before 31st March, 2018.It was further directed that such work shall not take place during the

school hours and working hours, i.e., from 08:00 A.M. to 05:00 P.M.

 Said order has not been complied with and certain companies have failed to complete the work within the stipulated time.Thereafter, vide order

dated 22.05.2018, this Court passed the following directions:

“The District Magistrate, Nainital may purely in the public interest allow the said company to complete the work within a period of ten days as an

undertaking has been given by the learned counsel for the company â€" Mr. Dharmendra Barthwal that the applicant / contractor shall be completing

the work within a period of ten days i.e. on or before 02.06.2018.All the same, in order to ensure this performance, the District Magistrate, Nainital

shall take a bank guarantee of Rs.10,00,000/- (Rupees Ten Lakh only) as a security within forty-eight hours from the applicant before granting such

permission.

We were also inclined to issue a show-cause to the District Magistrate, Nainital, Senior Superintendent of Police, Nainital, Additional District

Magistrate, Nainital and Executive Officer, Municipal Board, Nainital for non-compliance of our earlier order dated 10.05.2018. However, since the

District Magistrate, Nainital appeared in person and has assured this Court that a prompt effort will be made for compliance, the matter is presently

adjourned.

List this matter on 11.06.2018.â€​

This Court has been informed by the District Magistrate, Nainital, who is present in person, that the performance guarantee has been taken by the

District Magistrate.In view thereof, we pass an order directing the District Magistrate and the District Administration to ensure that the laying down

of optical fiber cable, at whatever stage it is at present in the city of Nainital, shall stop forthwith and no construction activity of any kind in this regard

shall be done.We further make it clear that, in case, any construction material or any other material is lying at any place in the city that shall be

removed by the District Magistrate, Nainital within 24 hours from today.

Matter regarding traffic:-

As far as the traffic condition is concerned, in spite of our orders enough has not been done by the District Administration to check the heavy flow of

traffic in Nainital so much so that on the last Saturday and Sunday the traffic condition in Nainital was unbearable.Long traffic jams were witnessed

on the Nainital-Kaladungi road as well as on Nainital-Kathgodam road.In order to avoid such a situation directions were earlier given by this Court

vide order dated 02.04.2018 to make arrangements of parking such vehicles which are coming to Nainital so that the satellite parking areas are

created and the tourists are brought to Nainital on the buses of Uttarakhand Transport Corporation as we are told by Mr. Yashpal, Regional Manager,

Uttarakhand Transport Corporation that buses are coming to Nainital at every 10-15 minutes interval from Kathgodam and there are five such

services via kaladungi also.We feel that enough has not been done by the District Administration in this regard.In fact, prima facie, it appears to be a

deliberate and willful disobedience of the orders of the Court.

Therefore, Mr. Vinod Kumar Suman, District Magistrate, Nainital; Mr. Janmejay Khanduri, Senior Superintendant of Police, Nainital; Mr. Harbeer

Singh, Secretary, Nainital District Development Authority and Mr. Rohitash Sharma, Executive Officer, Municipal Board, Nainital shall show cause as

to why contempt proceedings be not drawn against them for committing disobedience of Court’s orders dated 02.04.2018, 10.05.2018 and

22.05.2018.Reply be filed within a week.

Further Sri Harbeer Singh, Secretary, Nainital District Development Authority, shall file his personal affidavit regarding the construction activities at

Sukhatal and the peripheral areas as he had given an undertaking before this Court that construction has been stopped at Sukhatal.

We also direct that meanwhile in order to monitor the situation the matter be listed on 13.06.2018, along with connected matters.