Haldwani locals flash victory sign after Supreme Court order in Haldwani eviction case, in New Delhi on January 5, 2023. Photo Credit: PTI
The Supreme Court on Thursday banned a Uttarakhand High Court’s order dated 20 December In Haldwani district, the Railways and the district administration have been asked to use paramilitary forces to evict thousands of poor families from railway land within a week.
A division bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and AS Oka remarked that some of these people have been living on the land for 50 to 70 years and they cannot be evicted within a week.
The court noted that the issue has a “humanitarian angle”. Several proceedings under the Public Premises Act were initiated ex-parte against the families during the COVID times. A balance has to be struck between the need of the Railways for development of the land and the right of the families to live with dignity. The rights of the families on the land should be examined. Even those who do not have any rights but have been living there for years also need to be rehabilitated.
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Justice Kaul said, “They cannot be uprooted from the land overnight… One has to recognize the need of the Railways and pay attention to the need for rehabilitation.”
Justice Oka remarked, “And ordering the paramilitary forces to be brought in was not correct.”
State needs to be opened for more rail traffic: Railways
Additional Solicitor General for Railways Aishwarya Bhati said the land around Kathgodam railway station cannot be developed and the state needs to open up for more rail traffic. Haldwani was the closest. The land belonged to the railway. Sushri Bhati said that the people have never claimed their right to resettle, rather they have asserted their right to the land itself.
Senior advocates Colin Gonsalves, Siddharth Luthra, Salman Khurshid and advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for various affected families, submitted that more than 5,000 families are affected. The proceedings against him under the Public Premises Act were still on. The High Court order was sudden and ex parte. He was not given a proper opportunity of being heard. Among them children, women and elderly persons now face the prospect of being evicted from their homes in the bitter cold.
“These people are not just encroachers… There are many issues involved here. They cannot be evicted within a week,” remarked Justice Kaul.
The court issued a notice to the Uttarakhand government, giving a complete stay on the eviction. It listed the matter for February 7.
residents protest
Thousands of residents of Haldwani’s Banbhulpura are facing the threat of eviction sitting on strike In front of a mosque in Dehradun Before the Supreme Court’s decision on 5 January. Protesters, including a large number of women and children, also offered prayers collectively.
The residents claimed that they have relevant documents and expressed hope that the apex court would consider the fact that they had been living on the land for over 100 years
(With inputs from PTI),