The Supreme Court on Thursday directed that the demolition campaign in Jahangirpuri, northwest Delhi, be halted and the status quo be preserved in the matter till further decisions are issued. The petition will be listed in two weeks, according to the apex court, and filings must be submitted by then.
In the case filed by the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, a bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and BR Gavai issued notice to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and directed it to file a counter-affidavit within two weeks. ‘We’ll take serious view of demolition that took place after information was given to Mayor’, the court said.
On behalf of the government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the bench that both the pleas in the court were filed by Jamiat-ulama-i-Hind and added that this happens when an organisation comes here. ‘In Jahangirpuri the drive to remove the encroachments on footpath, etc began on 19 January, in February and in March; and then in 19 April it took place to remove the garbage, etc… I will show you instances when notice is not required and illegal structures were given the notice. Traders have moved the Delhi high Court last year and the court had itself ordered demolition’, he said.
After an urgent mention by Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana ordered status quo on demolitions till further orders in Jahangirpuri on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Advocate Dave said on Thursday that it was an issue of ‘national importance’.
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On the instructions of the BJP-led North Delhi Municipal Corporation, seven bulldozers rolled into Jahangirpuri on Wednesday, razing sections of multiple structures where rioting erupted on Saturday during a Hanuman Jayanti procession. The anti-encroachment drive began at about 10.15 am and lasted for two hours, despite Supreme Court orders to maintain the status quo, which were issued around 11 am.
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