New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a halt to demolition in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area where communal violence had erupted earlier, ordering the municipal authorities to maintain a status quo. A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana said status quo should be kept and said the matter be listed before an appropriate bench on Thursday. “Maintain status quo, list the matter before the appropriate bench tomorrow,” CJI Ramana said after hearing a mentioning by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and other petitioners. Senior lawyer Dushyant Dave, appearing for one of the petitioners, told the Supreme Court that immediate attention was needed as the North Delhi Municipal Corporation was conducting demolition of houses in an unconstitutional and illegal manner. “No notice (was served) to anyone as required by law. We have moved an application. Please My Lords, hear the matter immediately,” Dave pleaded. Other senior advocates — Kapil Sibal, P V Surendranath and Prashant Bhushan — also appeared before the apex court. “Let the matter be taken up tomorrow by an appropriate bench of this court along with the other matter,” CJI Ramana said. At 11.32 am, Bhushan tweeted that it was surprising that the authorities were still going ahead with the illegal demolition in violation of a Supreme Court stay order which has been extensively reported in the media. The person in charge will be held guilty of contempt of court, he said. The plea by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and others was mentioned before the Supreme Court against employing bulldozers to raze down houses of persons suspected to be involved in the Jahangirpuri violence. Sibal said the move by the authorities had national ramification. “Please hear it immediately. The issue has a lot of ramification on the entire country.” UNI SM MR
