Petition Filed In Supreme Court Challenging Demolition Drive In Lucknow's Akbar Nagar

Following the high court's order, the LDA wasted no time in commencing the demolition process on Tuesday evening, targeting shops and other commercial buildings along Ayodhya Road in Akbar Nagar. On Wednesday morning, Senior Advocate S Muralidhar mentioned the matter before a bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, remonstrating against the haste with which the demolition was carried out immediately after the high court passed its order.

The court, however, pointed out that the special leave petition had not been placed before it, which is why it could not be considered at the moment. Justice Khanna instructed that the plea be brought before the registrar general first for listing. Once listed, the matter would be taken up, the judge assured.

The occupants of these commercial spaces had approached the high court challenging the LDA's demolition orders. However, a division bench comprising Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Om Prakash Shukla yesterday dismissed the petition stating that it found no reason to exercise its discretionary jurisdiction in favour of the petitioners.

The court's decision hinged on the categorisation of the occupants into two groups: taxpayers and Below Poverty Line (BPL) cardholders. The court noted that the individuals had presented themselves as slum dwellers, failing to provide accurate information. The court clarified that after a thorough review of the documents, it was evident that neither were the petitioners slum dwellers nor did their establishments fall within the designated slum area.