The Supreme Court has issued a stay on the removal of encroachments from 29 acres of railway land in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, in the matter of Iqtadar Ullah vs. Ravi Shankar and others.
The Court has directed the State and the Railways to reach a practical solution and suggested that a feasible arrangement is needed to segregate people who may have rights or no rights along with schemes of rehabilitation which are already in place while also acknowledging the need of the railways. The SC has also advised against any further construction or development on the land. The next hearing will be on February 7, 2023.
Nearly 4,500 families were facing eviction from railway land in Haldwani’s Banbhoolpura region (Ghafoor Basti) after the High Court of Uttarakhand (division bench) pronounced an order in December 2022 calling for the demolition of constructions over encroached land that belongs to the railway at Banbhoolpura in Haldwani, Nainital. It had also ordered a week’s notice to vacate to the residents. The encroachments comprise places of worship, schools, inter colleges, hospitals, residential units, commercial establishments, overhead water tanks and dwellings on an area spread over 29 acres of railway land.
These houses and other structures have existed for about 50-60 years now. The process of issuance of notices was to start in January 2023. After the HC verdict came out, residents took up a protest against the clearance of illegal encroachments, apprehending that the demolition of their tenements would render them homeless. The aggrieved residents approached the Supreme Court seeking relief, alleging that their contentions were not heard adequately. Several occupants claimed rights based on leases and auction purchases.
The Supreme Court dealt with the issue of whether complete land is to vest in railways or if the State is claiming part of the land. Additional Solicitor General of India, Aishwarya Bhati appeared for the State, and Advocate Prashant Bhushan appeared for the petitioners. Senior Advocates Dr. Colin Gonsalves, Siddharth Luthra, and Salman Khurshid also appeared for some of the petitioners.
The petitioners argued that the land has been with their families since pre-independence times and that they have been in possession of govt leases which were effected in their favour. They also contended that the orders for eviction were ex-parte orders passed during the pandemic. The respondents argued that quite a few orders for eviction were passed under the Public Premises Act. The respondent also contended that the land was important for the development of railway amenities and emphasised on the point that Haldwani acts as a gateway for rail traffic.
The bench presided over Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, and Abhay S Oka heard the matter and promulgated a notice to the State of Uttarakhand and the Railways in a batch of special leave petitions filed against the order passed by a division bench of the Uttarakhand HC on December 20, 2022. The Judges stressed on the fact that some rehabilitation scheme has to be arranged, even if the land is possessed by the Railways, for it’s an issue of human concern. “There is a human angle to it”, said Justice Kaul.
In its order, the bench stated that “there are issues of occupants claiming rights on the land as lessees or auction purchasers. We are on the way the order has been passed as there cannot be uprooting of 50,000 people in 7 days. A workable arrangement is necessary to segregate people who may have rights/no rights coupled with schemes of rehabilitation which already exists while recognising the need of the railways.” On the issue of orders for eviction that was passed under the Public Premises Act, the SC opined that these could continue.
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