Interim stay on demolition of 6 flats in Silver Line Apartment
The LDA had earlier issued a notice asking residents to vacate the premises within 25 days. Following the court’s intervention, the demolition has been put on hold until further orders
LUCKNOW The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Wednesday stayed the demolition of six flats of Silver Line Apartment till further orders, one of the 81 buildings listed as illegal construction in the state capital. The court also sought reply from the UP government and the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) over delay in action against unauthorised constructions, providing time to file counter affidavit (reply).
A division bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Om Prakash Shukla issued the interim stay order after six residents of the apartment, including one Pankaj Mathur, approached the high court against the LDA’s demolition order passed in January this year. They filed six petitions separately, challenging the demolition order, and action for the same.
The LDA had earlier issued a notice asking residents to vacate the premises within 25 days. Following the court’s intervention, the demolition has been put on hold until further orders.
The issue dates back to 2010 when a public interest litigation (PIL) exposed large-scale illegal constructions in Lucknow. The Allahabad HC had then directed the LDA to submit a detailed report on unauthorised structures built between 2003 and 2013. Silver Line Apartment, which houses around 800 flats, was among the properties identified.
Senior advocate JN Mathur, representing the petitioners, argued that the first notice regarding the building’s illegality was issued in 2009, but authorities failed to act. Despite this, property registrations began in 2010, leaving residents unaware of any legal complications at the time of purchase. Residents contended that they bought the flats in good faith and should not bear the consequences of LDA’s “inaction”.
Mathur confirmed the court has stayed the demolition of six flats till further orders. He said more flat owners are preparing to approach the high court against the demolition process.
An LDA official confirmed that the court granted a stay after residents appealed against the eviction notice. The case now awaits further legal proceedings to determine the fate of the apartment complex.
