Legal battle between Ramnath Goenka and Jagmohan takes crucial turn with SC order

The disputed Express building; and (insets) Ramnath Goenka (left) and JagmohanRamnath Goenka, the octogenarian press baron who owns theIndian Expressgroup of newspapers and Jagmohan, once an ambitious bureaucrat and one of the country's youngest governors, have nothing in common except one thing: they love a good fight. And, ranged as they have been against each other since 1980 when Goenka moved the Supreme Court against Jagmohan's order to demolish his massive, five-storey "annexe" outside his old Express Building on Delhi's Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, they have had more than their share of sparring. Last month, however, the prolonged legal battle had taken a crucial new turn with Goenka claiming victory and Jagmohan crying foul. As the Supreme Court upheld Goenka's writ and later dismissed Jagmohan's review petition with harsh strictures, the Jammu & Kashmir Governor hit back, demanding a parliamentary committee to review the question.The judgement of the bench made up of Justices A.P. Sen, E.S. Venkataramiah and R.B. Mishra created a mild storm in the media world and amongst the nation's urban planners. While Venkataramiah and Mishra delivered relatively routine judgements, Sen who headed the bench, handled the wider question of press freedom in detail, ruling that the move to demolish the building was politically motivated, malatide and "intended and meant to silence the voice" of the newspaper. The press too joined in criticising Jagmohan. Said The Times of India: "The verdict is depressing because of the state of affairs that it has unearthed." There were demands even for Jagmohan's resignation that grew even louder as Jagmohan lost his revision petition before the same bench which castigated him for conduct that bordered on "contempt"..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}Jagmohan, however, treated the demand for his resignation by a section of the media and political parties with contempt. He told India Today: "Resign for what? I have no inclination to oblige the vested interest. Should I resign because my action has resulted in the detection of non-payment of con version charges? Or because my stand with regard to violation of the municipal laws has been found to be correct?"The genesis of the problem lay in the lease document signed almost three decades ago by the chief commissioner of Delhi and the then Indian Express managing director Feroze Gandhi. Two plots measuring 2,965 and 2,740 sq yards on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg were allotted at a concessional rate for a five-storey building solely for running a newspaper printing press. But the two plots were separated by a deep sewer pipe, and building was sanctioned only on the larger of the two; the smaller plot was permitted to be used only for parking and a lawn.Between 1967 and 1977 Goenka made numerous unsuccessful attempts to secure approval for raising another building on the second plot. There was no love lost between Goenka and Mrs Gandhi and thus he revived his building plans within two days of the Janata victory. On the plea of starting a Hindi daily, he sought permission to build up to another 72,000 sq ft. But the officials protested. The works and housing secretary opposed it in writing, stating that granting permission would "inevitably lead to requests from other plot holders including The Times of India, to use up their entire land area for building....The effect on parking and other requirements may not be acceptable". But the then housing minister, Sikander Bakht, overrode the protests and gave the nod, without stipulating conversion charges as is invariably done in such cases.The Congress(I)'s return to power halted Goenka's plans. Within hours of taking over as Delhi's lieutenant-governor, Jagmohan began a high-level probe into the building plan and a demolition notice promptly followed. Predictably, Goenka moved the court and got stay orders. The case saw leading legal luminaries wax eloquent on the question of the lieutenant-governor's powers. The court, however held that Jagmohan had exceeded his brief in serving the order but ruled that the Express was liable to pay the conversion charges. Piqued, Jagmohan challenged the basic foundation of the judgement through a review petition. He in fact stated that the judgement had been based on arguments wrongly attributed to his lawyers during the hearing. He also pleaded that the judgement has overlooked the affidavits filed by the secretary of the works and housing ministry in which it has been clearly stated that the It-governor had the powers of the chief commissioner of Delhi.The Supreme Court's trenchant dismissal of the review petition is now well known. But it could create administrative problems. Since it questions the powers of the lieutenant-governor it could also be used as a precedent to challenge the 100-odd decisions on land that the lieutenant-governor of Delhi takes each day. Moreover, since the court has allowed Goenka to sublet part of his building, contrary to the original lease agreement, the DDA would find it difficult to cope with another 4,000-odd similar requests pending from other builders and owners.Jagmohan argues that in the maze of legalese the judgement ignores these basic issues. Says he, seeking the formation of a parliamentary committee to review the issue: "Theory is one thing and practice another. It is worthwhile for our parliament to find out how our laws and constitution work in practice." This new posture could mean that the battle now enters the realm of a judiciary versus parliament row. For Jagmohan it is a desperate last gamble. But as people close to him point out, he has so little to lose now with his entire career at stake.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Jan 28, 2014--- ENDS ---

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Legal battle between Ramnath Goenka and Jagmohan takes crucial turn with SC order

Ramnath Goenka, the octogenarian press baron who owns the Indian Express group of newspapers and Jagmohan, once an ambitious bureaucrat and one of the country's youngest governors, have nothing in common except one thing: they love a good fight.

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