The Supreme Court has repudiated the extension of the status quo order granted on 16th August for the demolition drive being carried out by railway authorities in a settlement which lies at the back of Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura.
A bench comprising of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Bela M Trivedi were apprised about the completition of demolition drive by the Railways.
The Court also questioned the locus standi of the petitioner, saying that he wasnt affected by the demolition as he is not the resident in the disputed area.
The bench has granted the petitioner time to file rejoinder to the counter-affidavit filed by the Railways and posted the case to next Monday.
The Supreme Court on its 16th August order had directed status quo to be maintained with respect to the demolition drive being carried out by railway authorities for ten days.
A three-judge bench comprising of Justices Aniruddha Bose, Justice Sanjay Kumar, and Justice SVN Bhatti had passed the order granting interim relief to the residents after Senior Advocate Prashanto Chandra Sen argued that the petition might become infructuous if the demolition drive were to continue.
The bench was apprised by the senior counsel they approached this court, as all courts in Uttar Pradesh were closed.
Taking advantage of that, the authorities have bulldozed over 100 houses. There are some 200 houses in the area. Only 70-80 are left. The whole thing will become infructuous.
The bench after hearing this brief submission pronounced that the notice issued.
The bench further said that there should be status quo as regards the subject premises for a period of ten days.
The matter has been after one week.
The bench also has permitted the petitioner to file an additional affidavit.
The petitioner was represented by Senior Advocate Prashanto Chandra Sen, who was assisted by advocates Kaushik Chaudhry, Radha Tarkar, and Aaron Shaw.
The bench gave signs that ultimately, it might relegate the parties to the civil court, where suits in respect of the properties are pending.