The Supreme Court has set aside a Punjab and Haryana High Court order that had directed the removal of unauthorised and illegal constructions in Gurugram’s DLF City, noting that the order was passed without hearing the affected property owners.

A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi observed that the High Court’s direction was issued “without joining the appellants as parties in the writ petition” and therefore violated the fundamental principle of natural justice.

“It goes without saying that opportunity of hearing is a sine qua non for fair administration of justice, and the observations of the Court should not adjudicate the rights of any parties unheard,” the bench remarked.

The Supreme Court said that the High Court’s directions—whether relating to the jurisdiction of

See Full Page