MANOJ GUPTA Vs. DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A Writ Petition under Article 226 of Constitution of India has been filed for appropriate directions to protect the petitioners against the arbitrary and illegal demolition or eviction from T-Huts, Gyaspur Basti, Sarai Kale Khan, Nizamuddin East, South East Delhi, New Delhi.

(2.) It is submitted in the petition that the petitioners are the residents of two Gyaspur Basti clusters which are located on either side of the road in Sarai Kale Khan, Nizamuddin East, South East Delhi, New Delhi. The two clusters house 100 families and a total of over 459 residents are residing there. Settlement A on one side of the road is 100 meters away from Settlement B adjacent to the Kalindi Gaushala. It is asserted that on 18/6/2022 about 15-16 persons professing to be the representative of Respondent No.1 Delhi Development Authority visited Gyaspur Basti cluster and orally informed the residents that they would be demolishing the Basti on 23/6/2022. Thereafter on 23/6/2022 15-20 representative of Respondent No.1 again visited Gyaspur Basti cluster equipped with 8-9 bulldozers and threatened to demolish the jhuggis immediately and went to demolish the farms adjacent to the jhuggis. On the representations and requests of the residents, respondent No.1 agreed to wait till 27/6/2022 to conduct the demolition drive. The DDA's proposed action at the time when COVID-19 cases are rising on exponential basis and there is impeding monsoon reason in Delhi which could disproportionately affect and render the residents of this cluster homeless. No Notice of the demolition was ever served upon the petitioners.

(3.) It is further submitted that the Basti was established about forty years ago and petitioners have documents to demonstrate their residence here at least since 2005 i.e. for more than 17 years. Most of the residents migrated to Delhi from interiors of Uttar Pradesh and 95% of the residents belong to Scheduled Caste (primarily Dhobi caste) informal labour and are otherwise vulnerable to COVID-19 and are now facing the prospect of illegal eviction and demolition of their houses.