On June 11, the destruction at the Batla House neighborhood was scheduled to occur.
On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court declined to get involved in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that Amanatullah Khan, the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), filed to contest the demolition orders that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had sent to several Batla House residents. [Dhaka Development Authority & Anr. v. Amantullah Khan]
Khan was given permission by the bench of Justices Girish Kathpalia and Tejas Karia to drop the PIL and request that the impacted residents initiate the necessary legal action on their own within three days.
"As instructed by the briefing counsel, the petitioner's senior counsel requests permission to withdraw this petition so that the public-spirited petitioner can notify the Batla House locals of their right to file the proper proceedings before the proper forum within three working days." The Court declared, "Therefore, the petition is dismissed as withdrawn."
The PIL contested the purportedly unlawful demolition campaign, pointing out that DDA was posting generic and ambiguous demolition notices at homes in the Batla House neighborhood. The demolition was scheduled for the same day, June 11, hence the petition called for immediate action.
It appealed for a general order for all harmed parties, emphasizing that the Supreme Court's rules were not being followed prior to the demolitions.
Khan's attorney, Senior Advocate Salman Khurshid, contended that the PIL may be maintained because the petitioner is the local elected official. Khan represents the Okhla seat in the Delhi Legislative Assembly. Nonetheless, DDA argued that no demolition was being carried out without first notifying the parties involved and that all demolition notifications gave respondents 15 days to reply.
The Court noted that any local citizen is free to contest the demolition notices, and that any decision made in the PIL would put their case before the adjudicating authority in jeopardy. As a result, the Court stated verbally that it is not possible to treat the petition in the public interest.
However, Khan's attorney argued that while some of the harmed parties received protection from the High Court Court in their particular instances, the remaining Batla House inhabitants are unaware of their legal rights to contest the demolition.
The Court rejected the argument and let the petition to be withdrawn, allowing the people to be informed of their rights.
In support of Khan, Senior Advocate Salman Khurshid was joined by Advocates Fahad Khan, Jude Rohit, Raksha, Imran Ahmad, Shikhar Sharma, and Swati Khanna.
Advocate Kuljeet Singh and Standing Counsel Shobhana Takiar attended the DDA.
Raghvendra Upadhyay, a panel advocate, attended GNCTD.
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