NEW DELHI: The Delhi HC has granted interim protection to seven properties from demolition in the Batla House area in the Capital. Justice Rajneesh Kumar Gupta on Monday ordered to maintain the status quo while listing the matter for hearing on July 10 along with other matters.
Last week, Justice Tejas Karia, while passing the order on demolition stay for six residential properties in the area, also issued notice to the DDA, seeking its reply within four weeks.
The petitioners, Heena Parveen, Jinat Kausar, Rukhsana Begum, Nihal Fatima, Sufiyan Ahmed, and Sajid Fakhar among others, have argued that the properties in question are not all illegal and that some are situated outside Khasra Number 279, while others fall within it.
The petitioners had contended that the DDA had issued vague, generic notices without proper identification or demarcation of individual structures.
They submitted that the residents have lived on these plots for decades and that the properties are covered under the PM UDAY scheme, which aims to grant ownership rights in unauthorised colonies.
They had argued that many residents had purchased the properties from builders, and in some cases, had been living there since as early as 1980–82. The petitioners also stated that the documents relating to ownership were in Urdu and Farsi, which had to be translated, adding to the complexity. They claimed the notices lack specificity and ignore long-standing occupancy.
The DDA, through its standing counsel, had opposed the petitions, stating that the demarcation report had already been placed before the Supreme Court, and the June 4 order was based on those findings.
It was also contended that the High Court’s earlier order of June 4 in the case of Ishrat Jahan had directed the DDA to file an affidavit and submit its demarcation report within three weeks, following the Supreme Court’s observation on May 7 that affected residents may seek appropriate legal remedies.
In the case of Nihal Fatima and others, the DDA alleged that the documents relied upon were executed during the pendency of court proceedings and that no valid title documents had been submitted.
Counsel for the petitioners rebutted this, claiming that there are 34 bighas of land in Khasra Number 279, but the demolition order pertains to just 2 bighas and ten biswas.
“It is wrong to presume all properties in that Khasra are unauthorised,” they argued. Earlier, the HC had already granted interim protection to some residents of Batla House in similar petitions challenging the same round of demolition notices issued by the DDA.