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-Report by Radhika Mittal

This is a case about an eviction notice issued by the Public Welfare Department for the land occupied by the Appellant, which is a Trust established for the purpose of maintaining a Shiv Temple and Gaushala located in New Delhi. This case delves into the rights of the aggrieved slum dwellers as well as the statutory adherence to government policy.

FACTS :

The Appellant is aggrieved by the Eviction Notice and filed a petition seeking quashing of the Impugned Notice and the issuance of appropriate directions prohibiting the Respondents from carrying out demolition/evacuation proceedings in the said premises.

The learned Single Judge, while disposing of the petition, found that the premises in question do not come within the jhuggi cluster which has been notified as per the Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015. The learned Single Judge, therefore, held that the occupants of the premises were not entitled to protection from demolition.

Aggrieved by the Impugned Order, the Appellant filed an instant appeal. The Appellant contends that the cow shelter and temple have been present on the said premises for more than 15 years and that the Impugned Notice is illegal and arbitrary. The Respondent, on the other hand, has defended the Impugned Order by bringing to the attention of this Court that the place where the premises exist does not come within any notified cluster as notified under the Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation Relocation Policy, 2015.

The Court analyzed the said Policy and held that in order to get the benefit of the said Policy, a jhuggi jhopri basti cluster defined under the Act ought to have been in existence prior or 01.01.2006 and the person should have constructed his jhuggi within the cluster prior to 01.01.2015. The Court held that the premises in question do not come within any notified cluster and, therefore, the demolition cannot be stayed for the said premises.

CONTENTIONS :

This is an appeal against an order passed by a Single Judge in a writ petition filed by the Appellant challenging an eviction notice issued by the Respondent Public Welfare Department for the land occupied by the Appellant’s Trust, which runs a Shiv Temple and Gaushala, and provides shelter to ailing, old and abandoned cows. The notice was issued to all occupants of the premises, including the Appellant’s Trust, directing them to vacate the premises within 15 days. The eviction notice stated that if the occupants failed to do so, they would be removed and relocated to a Shelter Home at Dwarka, Geeta Colony, where they could reside for a period of 3 months. The Single Judge found that the premises did not come within the jhuggi cluster that had been notified under the Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015, and therefore the occupants were not entitled to protection from demolition. The Single Judge directed the Respondent to allot an alternate accommodation for the cow shelter within a week, and further that such alternate cow shelter would be exempt from the maximum stay period of three months. The Appellant challenged this order in the instant appeal, arguing that the cow shelter and temple have been present on the said premises for more than 15 years and that the eviction notice is illegal and arbitrary. The Respondent argued that the place where the premises exist does not come within any notified cluster as notified under the Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015, and therefore the demolition cannot be stayed for the said premises.

JUDGEMENT :

The court heard both parties and perused the material on record, including the Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015, and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board Act, 2010, and held that in order to get the benefit of the said Policy, a jhuggi jhopri basti cluster defined under the Act, ought to have been in existence prior or 01.01.2006 and the person should have constructed his jhuggi within the cluster prior to 01.01.2015. A survey was conducted to identify various clusters which were entitled to get the benefit of the said Policy. The court found that the premises in question did not come within any notified cluster and the occupants were not entitled to protection from demolition. However, the court directed the Respondent to allot an alternate accommodation for the cow shelter within a week, and such alternate cow shelter would be exempt from the maximum stay period of three months.

READ FULL JUDGEMENT: https://bit.ly/40glb3l

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