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Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi: Nai Basti residents welcome SC order to maintain status quo
The issue pertains to “unauthorised” constructions, primarily houses, situated along the railway track that passes through the backyard of Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura.
AGRA The residents of Nai Basti, where a recent demolition drive was conducted by railway authorities, have welcomed the Supreme Court’s order issued on Wednesday, instructing the concerned litigating parties to maintain the existing situation for the next ten days. The SC is scheduled to hear the matter after one week.
“We welcome the court’s ruling delivered on Wednesday and plan to present our perspective before the apex court during the upcoming week’s hearing. While the railways has already carried out demolitions on properties that had received notices, we now hope that the apex court would deliver justice,” said Yakub Shah, a resident of Nai Basti and the convener of the action committee formed by residents affected by the demolition drive.
“While we are yet to receive the official copy of the order, we have been informed that the Supreme Court has directed the maintenance of status quo for the next ten days. We respect the SC’s directive, and the debris at the site will remain untouched until the status quo is maintained,” said Prashasti Srivastava, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Agra Division of North Central Railways.
The issue pertains to “unauthorised” constructions, primarily houses, situated along the railway track that passes through the backyard of Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura. The owners of these houses in the predominantly Muslim neighbourhood of Nai Basti had previously received eviction notices. Consequently, a total of 60 houses were razed in an operation carried out on August 9th, and subsequently, notices were served to the remaining 75 homeowners in the area. These 75 houses were also demolished on August 14th.
Significantly, the Mathura Court was slated to hear a plea filed by Nai Basti residents requesting a halt to the demolition drive on Monday. However, due to a protest by lawyers, the day was marked as a ‘non-working day,’ and the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) is now scheduled to address the matter on August 17th, the next designated hearing date.
“We had lodged a case in the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) in Mathura against the eviction notices, and August 21st was fixed as the date for Railways to present its response. Nevertheless, the railway authorities chose to undertake the demolition drive instead. Consequently, we submitted an application last week seeking an injunction against the demolition drive by the railways. In response, the court set August 14th as the subsequent hearing date, but due to the lawyers’ protest in the Mathura Court, Monday’s proceedings were disrupted. The court has now rescheduled the hearing for August 17th. We acknowledge that the significance of the application has diminished with the completion of the demolition drive. Nevertheless, we anticipate the court to grant relief to those who have been displaced due to the demolition drive,” explained Shah.
“Previously, we met with the city magistrate and submitted a memorandum addressed to the district magistrate of Mathura last week. In the memorandum, we sought measures for the rehabilitation of those affected by the demolition drive, including housing under the DUDA scheme,” Yakub Shah added.
It is important to note that these encroachments, mainly comprising houses occupied by members of the minority community, were cleared as part of an initiative to upgrade the existing metre gauge railway track to a broad-gauge track, enabling a connection between Mathura and Vrindavan, according to the railway’s PRO.
