JAMMU: Division Bench of High Court comprising Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Sindhu Sharma has directed Jammu Municipal Corporation to inform the court as to how many eating houses/restaurants are operating in the city of Jammu, how many licenses in this regard have been granted and what action has been taken against those that are being run without any license.
The order has been passed in a petition filed by one Jai Dev Kalra challenging the order dated 19.02.2022 passed by the Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation under Section 330 of the Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Corporation Act, 2000 directing for the sealing of the premises of the petitioner for carrying out commercial activities in a residential area that too without parking and license to run an eating house.
The DB observed that Section 328 of the Act, in an unequivocal term, provides that no eating house can be run without a license granted by the Commissioner in that regard. “Admittedly, the petitioner is not possessing any such license though he may have applied and the application might be pending. However, the facts in this regard are not very clear as one application for grant of license moved by one Prashant Kumar has been rejected vide order dated 24.12.2021”, the DB added.
“The other issue which arises is regarding direction of the Assistant Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation directing the petitioner to stop the operation of the eating house in the premises failing which appropriate action under the Act shall be taken against him”, the DB said.
DB, on the request of Advocate Rajnesh Raina, appearing for the Jammu Municipal Corporation, directed to produce the entire record so as to show the date on which the petitioner applied for grant of license to run an eating house and, if the application stands rejected and, if so, whether the order has been communicated to the petitioner.
