Uttam Nagar Holi clash: Delhi HC restrains MCD from demolition action for a week

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday restrained the MCD from carrying out demolition action for a week against the houses belonging to certain individuals allegedly involved in the Uttam Nagar Holi clash case in which a 26-year-old man was killed.

Justice Amit Bansal allowed Jarina, the mother of accused Imran, and Shahnaz, whose children were interrogated by police as part of the probe, to file a fresh petition during the period against the demolition of their residential premises and said that the civic body would take no action in the meantime.

During the hearing, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) maintained that its demolition drive was against encroachment by eight houses and was not selective. It also said that the petitioners should be asked to state on oath that they have not encroached on public land.

The petitioners had sought directions to protect their residential premises in JJ Colony, Uttam Nagar, from “arbitrary and illegal” demolition by MCD. They also sought police protection for themselves and their family members.

Observing that the prayers pertained to two different causes of action, the court asked petitioners to file two separate petitions for police protection and protection from demolition.

“Till the time you file a petition, they will not do anything,” the court orally said in court.

The senior counsel for the MCD assured the court that demolition would not be carried out on the petitioners’ premises for now.

The petitioners’ counsel withdrew the petitions with liberty to file petitions with better particulars within one week.

MCD’s senior counsel said demolition in the petitioners’ locality was only with respect to portions that were encroaching on a public drain and the law did not require it to provide any prior notice for it.

The senior lawyer informed that, pursuant to the recent demolition drive, encroachment by eight houses was cleared and the petitioners should be asked to state on oath that they have not encroached on public land.

The demolition drive, the MCD’s senior lawyer said, was not selective.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma appeared for the Delhi Police and said allowing the petitioners’ prayer for police protection would hamper the investigation in the case, and the issue should not be combined with the demolition matter.

Jarina, in her petition, said the demolition of the house of an accused, Umardeep, by the MCD has created an atmosphere of terror and insecurity in the locality, resulting in a genuine apprehension that her house might also be demolished without following due process of law.

The petition said demolition, which cannot be used as a punitive measure in criminal cases, requires the issuance of a show-cause notice and providing a hearing to the affected persons.

Both the petitioners claimed in their pleas that a “purely personal” dispute has been maliciously given a communal colour, and certain religious groups and anti-social elements were also extending threats to them.

On March 8, the MCD razed a part of the house belonging to the family of the Uttam Nagar killing accused, saying it was built on a drain.

According to MCD officials, the corporation was not obligated to give prior notice in an anti-encroachment drive.

Several people, including a minor, have been apprehended in connection with the death of a 26-year-old man in a clash between two neighbouring families with long-standing disputes during Holi celebrations in southwest Delhi’s Uttam Nagar.