On this, the court pulled up by the DJB and said: 'You should have taken this step earlier. Why do you have to wait for the court orders to come? Why is there no initiation from your side?'

The court was hearing a public interest petition filed by advocate Surendra Sharma, a resident of Mohalla Ganga Ram in Shahdara. He pleaded before the court that there has been no water supply in his area for the past 87 days.

Seeking an explanation, the court had issued a notice to the chairperson, CEO, the executive engineer and the chairman of the Trans Yamuna Area Development Board.

'We have written letters to DJB authorities for the restoration of water supply but they turned a blind eye and paid no heed to our problem,' Sharma told the bench, adding that water bills are sent to them regularly though there has been no water supply.

The petitioner demanded compensation of Rs.200,000 from the DJB for the inconvenience caused to the residents of the area and sought directions from the court to quash the water bills.