New Delhi, July 18 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to come out with proper guidelines within two weeks to blacklist builders, contractors and architects found to have constructed buildings against sanctioned plans.

A bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta said that from now on the owner(s) of illegal or encroached constructions would be given only 48-hour notice to show cause why the building not be sealed or demolished and action shall be taken immediately thereafter.

The court directed that wherever any unauthorised/illegal construction come to the notice of the authorities, it "should be stopped with immediate effect".

The bench also sought the personal presence of councillor Mukesh Suryan, Chairman of the Najafgarh Wards Committee, after the bench was told that he prevented the officers from carrying out the sealing drive in the area.

The court asked the authorities concerned to file affidavit on the allegation that Deputy Commissioner Vishwendra Singh was transferred at Suryan's behest. The authorities, however, maintained that it was a routine transfer.

The top court asserted that the sealing drive will continue in Delhi. It directed Delhi Police to ensure adequate protections to officers involved in the sealing of illegal and unauthorised buildings.

The court was hearing pleas relating to the validity of the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006 and subsequent legislation that protected unauthorised constructions from sealing.

The sealing drive in Delhi is being carried out by a Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee against business establishments using residential properties for commercial purposes. It is being implemented by the three BJP-led Municipal Corporations of Delhi.

The committee was set up by the Supreme Court in 2006. In 2012, the apex court asked the committee to stop the drive. But in December 2017 it ordered resumption of the drive.

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Sultanpur (UP), Nov 30: A 45-year-old passenger fell to his death from an air-conditioned Uttar Pradesh roadways bus allegedly after he opened its door to spit 'pann' as the vehicle moved through the Purvanchal Expressway here on Saturday, police said.

The incident took place on the 93-km milestone of the expressway around 10.30 am when the bus was en route to Lucknow from Azamgarh.

"As the bus reached near Bihi village in the Baldirai police station area, a passenger opened the door of the moving bus to spit. He lost balance and fell onto the road, resulting in his death. He had opened the door to spit 'paan'," a police official said.

"The bus was stopped immediately, and Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) officials along with the police were informed," the official said.

Baldirai Station House Officer (SHO) Dheeraj Kumar said that UPEIDA personnel rushed the victim to the local Community Health Centre via ambulance, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

"The deceased was identified as Ram Jiavan, a resident of Chinhat area in Lucknow. His wife, Savitri, was also travelling with him on the bus," Kumar said.

He added that the bus has been taken to the police station for further investigation and the body has been sent for post-mortem.