Delhi High Court today said there will be no eviction of anyone staying in unauthorised constructions at the Tahirpur Leprosy complex in East Delhi till April 25.
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal also issued notice to the Delhi government and DDA seeking their response before the next date of hearing.
“As of today, demolition order has not being carried out.
Please maintain status quo till April 25. Do not evict anyone from that place till that time,” the bench said.
It further said that the matter needed consideration.
The court was hearing a plea by two minors, who are residents of Tahirpur complex, seeking “sympathetic consideration” from the authorities.
Appearing for the minors, senior advocate Salman Khurshid said there was a demolition order and even the single judge of this court on January 17 had not granted any relief.
The minors have approached the larger bench challenging the single judge’s decision dismissing the pleas filed by those who had encroached in the area.
The single judge had refused to interfere with the order of demolition issued by the authorities on December 23, 2016.
Seeking setting aside of the single judge’s order, the petitioners’ counsel had said the decision has “virtually left the residents of Tahirpur Complex homeless, amidst peak winters, which is an outright violation of the Right to Life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
“The single judge had lamented that despite the government setting aside valuable land and money for maintenance of the complex at Tahirpur area here, the leprosy affected patients have been forced to squat and beg outside in public places due to the encroachment and illegal construction there,” the court had said.
The verdict had come as the single judge had dismissed the pleas by the residents of the unauthorised colonies which have come up on the land meant for the leprosy patients, against the eviction and demolition notices.
( Source – PTI )
