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.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
