Delhi HC Seeks Status Report Over Filthy Drain Route Used By Rajputana Rifles To Reach Parade Ground

The Delhi High Court, on Monday, directed the Cantonment Board to submit a status report after taking suo motu cognizance of a Hindustan Times report highlighting the plight of nearly 3,000 soldiers from the Rajputana Rifles. The report revealed that these personnel are compelled to march through a foul-smelling, filthy drain to reach their parade ground due to the absence of a proper bridge.

The bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora held, “This Court has, in this petition, given directions from time to time for cleaning of various drains within Delhi since 2024. This particular story relating to the soldiers who have to march through this drain is indeed an unacceptable situation. The report states that a bridge was requested but has not yet been built”.

On 28th February 2025, the High Court had empowered and directed the Special Task Force (STF) to remove all illegal encroachments and constructions, including a five-storey building, that obstructed the natural flow of the Taimoor drain. Subsequently, on 28th April 2025, the bench fixed the date for the commencement of the demolition drive as 5th May 2025.

However, during the latest hearing, Senior Advocate AN Haksar, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that the five-storey building remained standing and continued to be occupied.

Standing Counsel Prabhsahay Kaur, for the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), informed the court that the demolition drive had been planned in three phases. The first two phases had been completed with approximately 90 structures demolished. The third phase included the demolition of five five-storey buildings and one three-storey building, which required a controlled demolition due to their structural complexity and shared walls with adjacent buildings.

Standing Counsel Kaur further submitted that due to the specialised nature of the work, a tender had been floated, scheduled to be opened on 28th May 2025. Upon finalisation, demolition was proposed to begin on 10th June 2025 and to be completed by 30th June 2025.

Senior Advocate Haksar acknowledged that a joint inspection had taken place, and the cleaning of the drain was ongoing. However, he expressed concern that garbage was continuously being dumped into the drain, causing congestion.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)submitted that the budget for constructing a Fixed Compactor Transfer Station (FCTS) had been approved and that construction would commence by 15th June 2025.

The bench observed that several unauthorised structures obstructing the drain were encroachments. Therefore, it had earlier directed their demolition through orders dated 17th and 28th April 2025. Although some occupants challenged the order, the Supreme Court dismissed the Special Leave Petition on 2nd May 2025, upholding the High Court’s directions and stating that removal of unauthorised structures was in the public interest.

The bench stressed the need for continuous cleaning of the drain at least twice daily, in the morning and evening, due to ongoing debris accumulation. It assigned responsibility for cleaning garbage in the drain's vicinity to the MCD and for ensuring water flow in the drain to the DDA. The DDA was further directed to clear all debris after demolition and expedite the construction of the drain.

Photographs submitted by the STF showed that construction of a boundary wall had begun but remained incomplete. The bench directed that the three essential activities—cleaning by MCD and DDA, demolition by DDA, and construction of the drain and boundary wall—must proceed simultaneously and not be contingent on one another, particularly in view of the approaching monsoon season. The court also took note of temporary planks placed across the drain, which posed safety risks, and directed the DDA to remove them.

Anil Kumar, Chairperson of the STF, assured the court that inter-agency meetings were ongoing. While the drain widening was underway, he acknowledged that malba (debris) removal would take some time, though the DDA committed to continuous efforts in that regard. The bench instructed that community meetings with residents be held every Friday at noon during June 2025 at the Maharani Bagh Community Centre.

The DDA also informed the Court that the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) had not yet sanctioned funds required for shifting a water pipeline, causing further delay. DJB’s counsel responded that the budget was under approval. The court directed that a joint meeting between the CEO of DJB, the Secretary (Finance) of GNCTD, and a DJB finance official be held on 30th May 2025 to expedite fund sanction and pipeline shifting.

Additionally, the Court took judicial notice of a news report published on 26th May 2025 in Hindustan Times, which highlighted the plight of over 3,000 soldiers of the Rajputana Rifles who were compelled to walk through a filthy and flooded drain multiple times a day due to the absence of a bridge. The bench deemed this situation unacceptable and requested the nominated counsel for the Delhi Cantonment Board to accept notice. The case was listed for the next hearing on 29th May 2025.

For Petitioner: Senior Advocate AN Haksar with Advocates Udayan Jain, Ranjan Mishra, Harsh Jaiswal and Seekha Vyas

For Union: Advocates Amit Gupta and Vidur Dwivedi

For MCD: Advocates Tushar Sannu Dahiya, Aman Kumar and Shivam

For DDA: Standing Counsel Prabhsahay Kaur with Advocates Deeksha L. Kakar, Aditya Verma, Kavya Shukla and Rashneet Singh

For GNCTD: Advocates Dhruv Rohatgi, Chandrika Sachdev and Dhruv Kumar

For Cantonment Board: Standing Counsel Ripudaman Bhardwaj with Advocates Kushagra Kumar, Amit Kumar Rana and Tarveen Singh Nanda

Case Title: Maharani Bagh Co-Operative House Building And Welfare Society v Union (2025:DHC:4421-DB)