SC sides with encroachers in the Haldwani case stays the eviction

New Delhi, Jan 05: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Uttarakhand High Court’s decision ordering authorities to remove encroachments from railway land in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani.

 

 

 

Stressing the human aspect of the case, the Supreme Court said a solution needs to be worked out keeping in view the people who face eviction from allegedly encroached railway land in Haldwani’s Banbhoolpura area.

 

 

 

'"There needs to be clarity on whether complete land vests in Railways or what land belongs to the state... 50,000 people cannot be evicted overnight," it said. A bench comprising Justice SK Kaul and Justice Abhay S Oka passed the order while issuing notice to the Uttarakhand government and the Railways. Observing that a workable arrangement is necessary, it posted the matter for further hearing on February 7. “There is a human angle to the problem, these are people. Something will have to be worked out,” Justice SK Kaul noted. The bench stated that a scheme has to be worked out for rehabilitation and working out the rights of the various people while also considering the need for the Railways. “There must be the culmination to this issue one way or the other,” Justice Kaul said. The top court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Uttarakhand High Court order for the removal of encroachments from 29 acres of railway land in Haldwani. According to the railways, there are 4,365 encroachers on the land. The residents have submitted in their plea that the high court has gravely erred in passing the impugned order despite being aware of the fact that proceedings with regard to the title of the residents including the petitioners are pending before the district magistrate. "It is submitted that the High Court has gravely erred in not appreciating that the alleged Demarcation Report dated April 7, 2021, placed before it by the Railway Authorities, was a hollow sham that revealed no demarcation whatsoever. "Despite extracting the covering letter of the Demarcation Report in the impugned order, the actual contents of the Report that only contained the names and addresses of all the residents were not gone into by the High Court," the plea said. 

 

Also Read: Haldwani Protests: Shaheen Bagh 2.0 in the making? 

 

The residents contended that the "arbitrary and illegal" approach adopted by the railways and state authorities and the high court's upholding of the same has resulted in a gross violation of their right to shelter. The petitioners claimed they were in possession of valid documents that clearly establish their title and valid occupation.