SC extends stay on demolition in Jahangirpuri neighbourhood on edge amid political hubbub
New Delhi Apr 21 PTI In relief for the residents of Jahangirpuri the Supreme Court Thursday extended the stay on the contentious anti-encroachment drive till further orders while pulling up the NDMC for continuing with the demolition despite the courts direction to the contrary and warning it will take a serious viewA bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai issued notices to the Centre and others on the plea filed by the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind that claimed buildings of Muslims accused in Saturdays riots were razedStatus quo to be maintained till further orderList after two weeks and pleadings to be completed till then the court ruled after making trenchant comments over the way the demolition was conductedWe will take a serious view of the demolition which was carried out even after Supreme Court orders even after NDMC Mayor was informed We will take that up later the bench saidThe legal relief notwithstanding Jahangirpuris C-Block the epicentre of Saturdays violence and scene of Wednesdays demolition drive was on edgeContingents of armed police and paramilitary forces stood guard at the heavily barricaded neighbourhood which was out of bounds for media while residents kept indoorsThe air was tense across the northwest Delhi locality even in the usually bustling Kushal Chowk area where shops were shutteredThe inward and outward movement at the C-Block was being strictly regulated by security personnel but children going to school in uniform or those appearing in exams were allowed to move in and out Drones whirred overhead surveying the battered landscape for troublemakersThe media has been barred from entering C-Block residential area because we have been ordered to do so We are doing this to maintain law and order situation here a senior police officer told PTI Political temperature was palpably high with Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram attacking the BJP over the demolition drive saying we see the rule of law break down everyday and soon there will be no law and no rules Once arbitrary Orders override Law we are on the road to hell The Bulldozer represents the arbitrary Order The Supreme Court represents Law Yesterday we saw the Bulldozer defy the Law Lets see what happens today the former home minister tweeted Unfazed by the criticism Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said he will write to east and south Delhi mayors also to conduct similar drives in their areas to bulldoze illegal encroachments by Rohingyas and Bangladeshis The Wednesdays demolition drive by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation NDMC was launched following Guptas letter that he wrote after the communal clashes in Jahangirpuri during a Hanuman Jayanti procession on April 16 He also slammed opposition parties including the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party for trying to protect rioters Congress and Left leaders have gone to Jahangirpuri to appease the rioters I have also learnt that Mamata Banerjee TMC chief is coming to meet them he said alleging AAP MLAs and councilors are supporting the Rohingyas and Bangladeshis in order to use them as vote bank North Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Iqbal Singh said the anti-encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri will not proceed further but asserted notices will be sent to encroachers in other areas under its jurisdictionWe will follow the Supreme Court order and there will be no further action in Jahangirpuri Singh told PTIHe however declared the civic body will keep taking action against encroachers We will identify illegal encroachments and send notices to them and take action Singh saidAmid all the political hubbub a Congress delegation was stopped by police from meeting the residentsThe delegation including former Union minister Ajay Maken and AICC in-charge of the state unit Shaktisinh Gohil attacked the BJP over the demolition drive terming it illegal and against the poor peopleWe were guided by party president Sonia Gandhi to meet the affected people in Jahangirpuri convey the Sadbhavna Sandesh to the locals and extend support to them but police did not allow us said a member of the delegationThis demolition is illegal I was an urban development minister too and I know how laws work They cannot do this without any prior notice BJP leaders are lying Maken said calling the demolition an attack on the poor and their livelihoodThey briefly sat on the road in protest after being prevented from visiting the residents In the Supreme Court senior advocate Dushyant Dave appearing for Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind said the matter raised far-reaching questions of constitutional and national importance Dave alleged bulldozers were being used to target just one community after riots This is not confined to Jahangirpuri and affects the social fabric of the country If we allow this there will be no rule of law or democracy left he said Dave submitted there are 731 unauthorised colonies in Delhi with 50 lakh people residing If you want to act against unauthorised constructions you go to Sainik Farms Come to Golf Links where I stay and where every second home is an encroachment You dont want to touch them but target the poor people he saidSolicitor General Tushar Mehta noted the anti-encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri had begun in January this year This is what happens when an organisation Jamiat comes here suddenly I will show you instances when notice is not required and illegal structures were given notice Traders had moved high court last year and the high court had itself ordered demolition Mehta contended Chaotic scenes had unfolded in Jahangirpuri on Wednesday when roadside stalls and shops allegedly built on public land were pulled down by the NDMC in the presence of huge contingents of police and paramilitary triggering recrimination among political parties before the apex court pressed the pause button PTI PKS ABU AKM VIT BUN ASK TDS TIR RKS DV SK SK SK SK
New Delhi Apr 21 PTI In relief for the residents of Jahangirpuri the Supreme Court Thursday extended the stay on the contentious anti-encroachment drive till further orders while pulling up the NDMC for continuing with the demolition despite the courts direction to the contrary and warning it will take a serious viewA bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai issued notices to the Centre and others on the plea filed by the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind that claimed buildings of Muslims accused in Saturdays riots were razedStatus quo to be maintained till further orderList after two weeks and pleadings to be completed till then the court ruled after making trenchant comments over the way the demolition was conductedWe will take a serious view of the demolition which was carried out even after Supreme Court orders even after NDMC Mayor was informed We will take that up later the bench saidThe legal relief notwithstanding Jahangirpuris C-Block the epicentre of Saturdays violence and scene of Wednesdays demolition drive was on edgeContingents of armed police and paramilitary forces stood guard at the heavily barricaded neighbourhood which was out of bounds for media while residents kept indoorsThe air was tense across the northwest Delhi locality even in the usually bustling Kushal Chowk area where shops were shutteredThe inward and outward movement at the C-Block was being strictly regulated by security personnel but children going to school in uniform or those appearing in exams were allowed to move in and out Drones whirred overhead surveying the battered landscape for troublemakersThe media has been barred from entering C-Block residential area because we have been ordered to do so We are doing this to maintain law and order situation here a senior police officer told PTI Political temperature was palpably high with Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram attacking the BJP over the demolition drive saying we see the rule of law break down everyday and soon there will be no law and no rules Once arbitrary Orders override Law we are on the road to hell The Bulldozer represents the arbitrary Order The Supreme Court represents Law Yesterday we saw the Bulldozer defy the Law Lets see what happens today the former home minister tweeted Unfazed by the criticism Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said he will write to east and south Delhi mayors also to conduct similar drives in their areas to bulldoze illegal encroachments by Rohingyas and Bangladeshis The Wednesdays demolition drive by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation NDMC was launched following Guptas letter that he wrote after the communal clashes in Jahangirpuri during a Hanuman Jayanti procession on April 16 He also slammed opposition parties including the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party for trying to protect rioters Congress and Left leaders have gone to Jahangirpuri to appease the rioters I have also learnt that Mamata Banerjee TMC chief is coming to meet them he said alleging AAP MLAs and councilors are supporting the Rohingyas and Bangladeshis in order to use them as vote bank North Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Iqbal Singh said the anti-encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri will not proceed further but asserted notices will be sent to encroachers in other areas under its jurisdictionWe will follow the Supreme Court order and there will be no further action in Jahangirpuri Singh told PTIHe however declared the civic body will keep taking action against encroachers We will identify illegal encroachments and send notices to them and take action Singh saidAmid all the political hubbub a Congress delegation was stopped by police from meeting the residentsThe delegation including former Union minister Ajay Maken and AICC in-charge of the state unit Shaktisinh Gohil attacked the BJP over the demolition drive terming it illegal and against the poor peopleWe were guided by party president Sonia Gandhi to meet the affected people in Jahangirpuri convey the Sadbhavna Sandesh to the locals and extend support to them but police did not allow us said a member of the delegationThis demolition is illegal I was an urban development minister too and I know how laws work They cannot do this without any prior notice BJP leaders are lying Maken said calling the demolition an attack on the poor and their livelihoodThey briefly sat on the road in protest after being prevented from visiting the residents In the Supreme Court senior advocate Dushyant Dave appearing for Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind said the matter raised far-reaching questions of constitutional and national importance Dave alleged bulldozers were being used to target just one community after riots This is not confined to Jahangirpuri and affects the social fabric of the country If we allow this there will be no rule of law or democracy left he said Dave submitted there are 731 unauthorised colonies in Delhi with 50 lakh people residing If you want to act against unauthorised constructions you go to Sainik Farms Come to Golf Links where I stay and where every second home is an encroachment You dont want to touch them but target the poor people he saidSolicitor General Tushar Mehta noted the anti-encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri had begun in January this year This is what happens when an organisation Jamiat comes here suddenly I will show you instances when notice is not required and illegal structures were given notice Traders had moved high court last year and the high court had itself ordered demolition Mehta contended Chaotic scenes had unfolded in Jahangirpuri on Wednesday when roadside stalls and shops allegedly built on public land were pulled down by the NDMC in the presence of huge contingents of police and paramilitary triggering recrimination among political parties before the apex court pressed the pause button PTI PKS ABU AKM VIT BUN ASK TDS TIR RKS DV SK SK SK SK
