Supreme Court orders status quo on construction under PM Awas Yojana on Abbas Ansari's land in Lucknow

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered status quo on the construction of housing units under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana at a disputed site in Lucknow's Jiamau whose ownership is claimed by the sons of late gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.

In 2020, the Lucknow Development Authority had bulldozed the bungalow that belonged to Ansari and his sons including Abbas Ansari. The government plans to build flats on the land under the PM Awas Yojana.

An SC bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh took note of submission by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Abbas Ansari, that the plea regarding the possession of land was listed before the Division Bench of Allahabad High court repeatedly, but no interim stay was passed.

On October 21 last year, the top court asked the High Court to take up the application for interim stay for hearing as early as possible. When the matter came up for hearing in the SC on Thursday, Sibal informed the bench that despite its order, the case has not been taken for hearing.

"Some High Courts, we don't know what will happen. Allahabad High Court is one of the high courts which one should be worrisome about," the bench said.

While granting the status quo on construction, the top court bench directed the high court to hear the matter expeditiously.

"Since we have not issued notice and have also not obtained any report from Registry of the High Court, we are not inclined to express any opinion as to what were the circumstances in which the petitioner's writ petition could not be taken up for hearing by the bench, though it was listed from time to time," the bench observed.

It said that the petitioners have specifically stated that the authorities have commenced construction at plot No 93 located in Village Jiamau, Lucknow, which they claim to be under their ownership.

If third party rights are created it is likely to cause irreversible loss to the petitioners, the court observed. "We dispose of this application with a direction to the authorities as well as to the petitioners to maintain status quo at the site till the matter is heard by the High Court," it said.

According to Abbas Ansari, his grandfather purchased a share in a plot in Jiamau and the deed was registered on March 9, 2004. The said property was allegedly gifted by him to his wife Rabia Begum, who then bequeathed the same through a registered will dated June 28, 2017 to the petitioner and his brother.

The plea said that the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Dalibagh, Lucknow allegedly passed an ex parte (in their absence) order on August 14, 2020 declaring the plot a government property.

Thereafter, the petitioner and his brother were dispossessed in August 2023.

Abbas Ansari then filed a petition in 2023 before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court. Some other co-owners of the plot, who were also affected by the SDMs order, also approached the High Court and the matter was listed before a division bench.

When Abbas Ansari's writ petition came up for hearing before the single judge on January 8, 2024, he ordered it to be listed along with other matters so as to avoid conflicting orders.

Abbas Ansari contended that his writ petition has been listed before the division bench repeatedly, but no interim stay has been passed in their favour, as was done by the division bench in the case of other affected persons.

"Resultantly, the authorities, after taking physical possession of the petitioner's plot, have started construction of some dwelling units at the site under the Prima Minister Awas Yojna," the plea said.