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'You Are Third Party': SC Junks NFIW's Contempt Plea Over Demolitions in UP, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan

author The Wire Staff
14 hours ago
The contempt petition was filed by the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) which alleged that the latest demolitions violated last month’s Supreme Court order.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday (October 24) declined to hear a contempt of court plea related to alleged punitive demolition of properties that took place in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.

The contempt petition was filed by the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) which alleged that the latest demolitions violated last month’s Supreme Court order, which on September 17 had directed that no demolitions should take place in the country without its explicit permission, reported Bar and Bench.

But a bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra and K.V. Vishwanathan dismissed the plea saying that NFIW is not an aggrieved party.

“You are third party. What is your grievance? Let affected ones come, we will take. This will open flood of litigations,” said Justice Gavai on Thursday (October 24).

The NFIW plea had cited instances of demolitions carried out in the three states and had also made the district magistrates of Haridwar, Jaipur and Kanpur party to the contempt plea.

“Even if the concerned State Authorities were of the opinion that the structures were illegal, the said structures were not covered by the categories carved out by this Hon’ble Court as exceptions to the general prohibition on demolition imposed viz. unauthorised structures in any public place such as road, street, footpath, abutting railway line or any river body or water bodies or cases where there is an order for demolition made by a Court of law,” the plea said.

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