The Supreme Court on Thursday acted as a “savior” to about 5,000 families who faced eviction in the biting cold from alleged Indian Railways’ land at Haldwani and had nowhere to go.
The court cited fundamental human consideration for its reason to stay the Uttarakhand High Court order for the removal of encroachments from 29 acres claimed by the Railways in Haldwani.
Justices SK Kaul and AS Oka said 50,000 people cannot be uprooted overnight and noted that some people have titles over 60 years and also suggested workable solutions, practical ways and rehabilitations. The bench also observed it may not be correct to say to bring in paramilitary forces to dispossess these people.
The apex court issued notices to the Railways and the Uttarakhand Government seeking their responses to a batch of pleas challenging the High Court order for removal of encroachments.
According to the Eailways, there are 4,365 encroachers on the land, while the occupants are holding protests at Haldwani asserting they are its rightful owners.
Nearly 50,000 people, a majority of them Muslims, belonging to over 4,000 families reside on the disputed land. “Issue notice. In the meantime, there shall be stay of directions passed in the impugned order,” said the bench, which posted the matter for further hearing on February 7.
“We do believe that a workable arrangement is necessary to segregate people who may have no rights on the land.... Coupled with schemes of rehabilitation which may already exist while recognising the need of the railways,” the bench said. “We have not stayed the proceedings and only the directions of the High Court have been stayed,” the court clarified.
The court also said there shall be no further construction or development on the disputed land.
Justice Kaul said since people sought to be removed have stayed there for so many years, some rehabilitation has to be found for them. “Even let us assume for the sake of arguments, it is completely Railways land, some scheme will have to be done,” said the judge. The bench was hearing a series of petitions filed by the people from Haldwani, represented by noted lawyers Salman Khurshid, Prashant Bhushan and Colin Gonsalves. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Railways, said the land belongs to the Railways and 4,365 unauthorised occupants have been identified.
On this, the bench said these people have claimed they have the leases and also the properties of those, who migrated in 1947, were auctioned and, in that process, they have got the properties.
“What is troubling us is this. One, how do you deal with a scenario where people may have purchased in the auction... If the people have acquired the title, how will you do it?” the court asked the railways.
“We are trying to tell you, find out some solution. This is a human issue,” the bench said, adding, “Somebody has to examine whether somebody is entitled for rehabilitation.” “But there are multiple angles arising from the nature of the land, ownership of the land, the nature of rights conferred...,” it acknowledged.
Bhati said it should be considered how critical the land is for development of the area and the railway station there is really the gateway to entire Uttarakhand. She said the railways cannot expand at the Kathgodam station which is just five km away from Haldwani.