Gayatri Kasibhatta | Supreme Court | Social ThikanaThe Supreme Court declined to pass any order staying the eviction but said that affected persons can approach the commissioner for alternate accommodation before the demolition work begins.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to pass any order staying eviction of persons living in Khori Gaon settlement at Faridabad, Haryana.
The Court also brushed aside the concerns raised by United Nations (UN) regarding people being rendered homeless due to the eviction.
"UN should have read our previous orders and paperbooks," the Bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar remarked.
The comment by the Supreme Court on Friday came when Senior Counsel Meenakshi Arora, highlighted the UN report regarding the eviction.
Human rights experts at the United Nations (UN) had recently issued a statement urging India to halt eviction. The statement said that the role of the Supreme Court is to uphold the laws and to interpret them in light of internationally recognized human rights standards, not to undermine them “We find extremely worrying that India’s highest court, which has in the past led the protection of housing rights, is now leading evictions placing people at risk of internal displacement and even homelessness, as is the case in Khori Gaon,” the statement read.
The statement by UN experts was a result of the Supreme Court's earlier direction to completely remove Khori Gaon settlements by July 19. The order came after the residents challenged the demolition of 2,000 homes in the area.