Bahraich incident: HC grants 15 more days to file replies to those served with demolition notices
Lucknow, Oct 20: In a relief to those who have been served notices for demolition of illegal structures raised on the Kundasar-Mahasi-Nanpara-Maharajganj road in Bahraich, the Allahabad High Court on Sunday extended the time to file their replies by 15 days.
The Lucknow bench of the court said the persons concerned may file their responses to the notices within 15 days and directed the state authorities to consider the said replies and a pass reasoned order on those.
The bench has fixed October 23 as the next date of hearing in the matter.
A bench of Justices A R Masoodi and Subhash Vidyarthi passed the order on a public interest litigation (PIL) plea filed by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights.
On the petitioner's plea, the special bench was constituted on Sunday evening and it passed the interim order, halting the state authorities who were preparing to demolish the illegal structures as soon as possible.
The plea has contended that the Uttar Pradesh government issued the demolition notices illegally and its action to initiate the demolition drive violates the Supreme Court's recent directives, banning bulldozer action except in certain cases.
On behalf of the state government, Chief Standing Counsel (CSC) Shailendra Kumar Singh argued that the PIL was not maintainable.
After hearing the matter, the bench said, "Leaving all the aspects of the matter open, what pricks the conscious of this court is the issuance of notices to submit the reply within a short span of three days. As to what number of houses situated on kilometre-38 of the Kundasar-Mahasi-Nanpara-Maharajganj district road have been duly authorised for construction is also not much evident from the notices, which may require clarity."
"Without observing anything on the merits at this stage, as already observed, we grant three days' time to the CSC to obtain complete instructions," it added.
"The position as to the category of the road and norms applicable may be clarified on the next date," the court said.
It said it is expected that those who have been served the notices will participate in the proceedings in the meantime.
"We further provide that in case they file their replies to the notices within a period of 15 days from today, the competent authority shall consider and decide the same by passing a speaking and reasoned order, which shall be communicated to the parties aggrieved," the court added.
Ram Gopal Mishra (22) of Rehua Mansoor village died of a gunshot wound he suffered on October 13 during a communal face-off in a village in Bahraich district over music being played during a procession.
Notices were served to 23 establishments, including 20 belonging to Muslims, in the area by the public works department (PWD).
The PWD carried out inspections in the Maharajganj area on Friday and took measurements of 20-25 houses, including that of Abdul Hamid, one of the men accused in Mishra's killing.
The notices were served under the Road Control Act, 1964.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Four booked for tying 18-year-old to tree, beating him up in UP's Pratapgarh
Pratapgarh (UP) (PTI): Four people were booked here for the abduction and assault of a man who they allegedly tied to a tree and beat up, police said on Wednesday.
The incident, a video of which has gone viral, took place on Tuesday afternoon under the Kunda police station limits.
The FIR was registered on Wednesday evening based on a complaint from the victim's father.
According to Keshav Prasad Yadav, a resident of Mauli village, some people called his 18-year-old son Nikhil Yadav on the phone and asked him to come out of his house around 2.30 pm on Tuesday.
As he reached outside the village as instructed, the accused allegedly forced him into a car and took him towards the Tinpedwa forest area, where they tied him to a tree and assaulted, the complainant said.
The attackers also recorded a video of the incident and circulated it on social media. The purported video shows the men thrashing Nikhil one after another, while one of them is assumed to have recorded the act.
Kunda Station House Officer Manoj Pandey confirmed the incident and said efforts are underway to identify and arrest all the accused.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has shared the video on social media, describing the incident as reflective of a "dominant mindset" against the PDA (Pichda or Backward, Dalit, and Alpasankhyak or Minority), and demanded strict action against the accused.
_vb_80.png)
