CHENNAI: A division bench of the Madras High Court has upheld an order directing the slum dwellers in Elango Street in Govindasamy Nagar near Buckingham canal, to shift to the alternate place provided by the government.
The bench of Justices M Venugopal and S Vaidyanathan, however, extended the time to shift till June 10 and directed the Tangedco to restore the electricity supply to their original place, till then. The judge was dismissing a review petition from the petitioners, on Tuesday.
Originally, challenging the orders, S Srinivasan and 89 others had moved the High Court, which by an order dated February 19, 2018, upheld their eviction and directed them to vacate the premises and switch over to the alternate place within one month. The court also ordered the disconnection of the electricity supply.
Aggrieved, the slum dwellers moved the Supreme Court, which dismissed the SLP on January 11 last, with liberty to the petitioners, to move the High Court with an application to review its February 19 order. It also granted status-quo. Accordingly, the petitioners approached the HC now.
The bench led by Justice Venugopal dismissed it. It, however, granted time till June 10 to the petitioners to switch over to the alternate place. It also directed the EB authorities to restore the power supply till then.
The judges, however, made it clear that in view of the dismissal of the review application, there is no impediment for the authorities concerned, to evict the petitioners after expiry of extended period.