Delhi High Court Halts Batla House Demolition For 11 Residents Amid SC Dispute
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Delhi HC grants interim relief to 11 Batla House residents facing demolition, asks them to withdraw SC plea. DDA opposed the move, citing Supreme Court’s prior demolition order for Khasra No. 279.
New Delhi: Today, on June 13, the Delhi High Court gave temporary relief to 11 residents of southeast Delhi’s Batla House area, who had received demolition notices from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
The court ordered that the demolitions should be paused, but only if the petitioners agree to file an affidavit stating that they will withdraw their similar application that is already pending before the Supreme Court.
Also Read: Supreme Court Seeks Maharashtra’s Reply on Demolition Over Alleged Anti-India Slogan
Out of the 11 petitioners, two said that their properties are located in Khasra number 279—an area that is at the center of the ongoing legal dispute.
The DDA strongly opposed the petition filed by the residents and questioned how the petitioners could now approach the High Court while they had already moved the Supreme Court. The DDA’s lawyer raised concerns, stating that
“how can the petitioners who moved the Supreme Court now approach the High Court?”
Some of the petitioners claimed that the DDA did not serve any proper notice before starting the demolition process. They said the only information they received was verbal.
Also Read: Supreme Court Slams Uttar Pradesh Government Over “High-Handed” Demolitions in Prayagraj
They also pointed out that the demarcation process—where the authorities mark the boundaries of the land to identify illegal structures—was done only recently, on June 9.
One of the petitioners said,
“No notice was given, and the DDA only informed verbally. The demarcation was done on June 9.”
Earlier on May 7, the Supreme Court had ordered the DDA to carry out demolitions of all illegal structures located on Khasra number 279.
The land in question is around 2.8 bigha, which equals approximately 0.702 hectares, and lies along Muradi Road in Okhla village.
Following the Supreme Court’s direction, the DDA went ahead and pasted demolition notices on the buildings that were identified as unauthorized constructions in the Batla House area.
These actions were taken strictly as per the top court’s order, which clearly said the
“DDA to demolish unauthorised structures in Khasra number 279”.
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