JOIN USSC to hear plea against eviction of people from Railways land in Haldwani on Jan 5
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to examine on January 5 a plea related to the proposed eviction of 4,500 people from Railways land at Haldwani.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, and Justices S Abdul Nazeer and P S Narasimha fixed the matter for hearing on Thursday as advocate Prashant Bhushan sought urgent hearing.
The counsel said a connected matter is coming up for hearing on Thursday, so the instant case should also be tagged along with it.
More than 4,000 families, of whom the majority are Muslims, reportedly face eviction from Railways land in Banbhoolpura area in Uttarkahand’s Haldwani district as the High Court has ordered demolition of ‘constructions in Railway land'.
It was claimed that encroachments around Haldwani Railway Station included around 20 mosques and nine temples and schools.
The Jan Sahyog Sewa Samiti, through its President Salim Saifi and others, filed the Special Leave Petition against judgment and order dated December 20, 2022 passed by the High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital, which had allowed their eviction within a week and their for houses to be demolished.
The petitioners claimed they are poor people who have been lawful residents of Mohalla Nai Basti and Line No 17 & 18, Banbhulpura (Azad Nagar), Haldwani District Nainital, Uttarakhand for more than 70 years.
They are in possession of valid documents that clearly establish title and valid occupation. The High Court ought to have given due consideration to all these documents instead of making allegations of vote bank politics against State, they said.
Additionally, the names of the local residents have been recorded in the municipal records in the house tax register and they are paying their house taxes regularly.
They said there are five government schools, one hospital, two overhead water tanks in the area.
"Thus, the long physical existence of the petitioners, some even prior to Independence, has been recognised by the state government and its agencies by providing them with electricity and gas connections, enrolling them on voters list and providing them with Aadhar cards," the petitioners said.