License of Delhi’s iconic Khan Chacha, Town Hall restaurants cancelled

New Delhi: Businessman Navneet Kalra on Friday (July. 30, 2021) informed the Delhi High Court that the licenses of his restaurants Khan Chacha and Town Hall have been cancelled. Appearing for Kalra in the High Court, Advocate Gurinder Pal Singh told Justice Rekha Palli that on July 23 the licensing unit cancelled the licenses of both the Khan Chacha and Town Hall restaurants.

The Court granted liberty to the petitioner to take other legal remedies for his grievances. The Court was hearing Karla plea challenging the show cause notice issued to him by Joint Commissioner of Police, Licensing Unit, Delhi for suspending the restaurant Khan Chacha and Town Hall till the final outcome of the said notice.

Kalra has challenged the Order cum Show Cause Notice bearing dated May 11, 2021. By the Order Cum Show Cause Notices, the license granted to the petitioner for running the restaurant "Khan Chacha" and Town Hall was suspended till the final outcome of the said notice and the petitioner was called upon to show cause within 15 days from the date of the receipt of the notice "as to why your registration certificate should not be cancelled for the above said acts of omission and commission".

It was alleged that petitioner Kalra had violated the terms and conditions of the Registration Certification under regulation-11 of the Delhi Eating Houses Registration Regulation, 1980.Kalra told the Court that he has submitted his response on June 9, 2021. However, since the petitioner heard nothing from the respondents, it was constrained to write again on June 17, 2021. To date, the respondents have neither withdrawn the suspension order nor decided on the Show Cause Notice issued, the petitioner said.

"Because the Respondent No.2 i.e. Joint Commissioner of Police is not authorized to issue the aforesaid Order Cum Show Cause Notice under the Delhi Eating Houses Registration Regulations 1980," the petitioner said.

The petitioner said that the Show Cause Notice makes a reference to the registration of FIR and submitted that the registration of FIR itself is no ground for cancellation or proposed cancellation of Petitioner`s Registration Certificate as the matter with regard to that FIR is sub-judice and is subject to the judgment of a proper court of law. Mere registration of an FIR is, respectfully, no ground for cancellation of Registration more so because the petitioner is challenging the factual correctness as well as the legality of the registration of the case, he further added.

Delhi Police on May 5, 2021, registered an FIR against Kalra and others for allegedly hoarding and black-marketing Oxygen Concentrators and on May 7, 2021, the police seized 96 Oxygen concentrators from the restaurant premises of Khan Chacha. Thereafter, Kalra was taken into police custody on May 16, 2021, and released on bail on May 29, 2021.

Kalra`s lawyer told the court that the impugned Order Cum Show Cause Notice dated 11 May 2021 was found pasted on the restaurant premises on or about May 26 and since Kalra was in custody, he came to know of the aforesaid notice on his release on May 29. Thereafter, he was served personally by hand to the Petitioner on June 4, 2021. 

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