Haldwani Railway Land Case: Supreme Court Admits Petition of Seventeen Affected People, Including Three Women for Hearing

The Uttarakhand High Court's decision to remove a Muslim settlement in Haldwani district, Uttarakhand, allegedly built on railway land before independence, has been challenged in the Supreme Court by the Jamiat Ulama Haldwani on the instructions of Jamiat Ulama Hind President Maulana Arshad Madani.

According to a release issued today, the important case was heard today by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Jaimala Bagchi, during which Senior Advocate Guru Agarwal informed the court that the Uttarakhand High Court had passed a one-sided decision on December 20, 2022, ordering over 50,000 residents to vacate the alleged railway land. The Uttarakhand High Court's decision is unconstitutional as the high court did not give the residents of the settlement an opportunity to present their arguments.

Senior Advocate Guru Agarwal further stated that the railway did not approach the court regarding its claim on the land, but rather a local social worker filed a petition, on which the high court made such a significant decision. Senior Advocate Guru Agarwal told the court that the petition filed against the high court's decision is currently being heard in the Supreme Court, so this petition should also be accepted for hearing and tagged with the previously filed petition.

After hearing Senior Advocate Guru Agarwal's arguments, the Chief Justice of India accepted the petition for hearing and tagged it with other petitions. During the hearing, the Chief Justice of India directed Additional Solicitor General of India Aishwarya Bhati to present a report in court regarding the petitioners, as the court wants to know whether the petitioners reside in the same area or not.

During the hearing, the court asked Senior Advocate Guru Agarwal why they had approached the court so late, to which the senior advocate replied that it was true they had approached the court late, but they had received the notice from the Uttarakhand government late. Senior Advocate Guru Agarwal was assisted by Advocate Arif Ali, Advocate Shahid Nadeem, Advocate Mujahid Ahmed, Advocate Pankaj, and others, while the petition was filed by Advocate-on-Record Chand Qureshi.

The petitioners in the Supreme Court of India against the Uttarakhand High Court's decision include Faisal Siddiqui, Sharafatullah Siddiqui, Shifaat Hussain, Javed Hussain, Yamin, Abdul Rashid, Jalil Ahmed, Mohammed Hussain, Ishrat Begum, Sabira Begum, Naeem Ishrat, Zakir Ali, Mohammed Javed, Nazakat Ahmed, Tahoor Ahmed, and Masood Ahmed.

The petition states that people have been living on the alleged railway land since before independence, and they have residential proof, electricity bills, water bills, and other documents. In the past, the Uttarakhand government had also conducted a survey and granted permission to the residents to stay, yet the high court ordered the demolition of the settlement in a one-sided decision.

The petition further states that the state government and the railway department did not present facts in the high court regarding the settlement; instead of implementing past policies, they submitted an affidavit in favor of demolishing the settlement under alleged political pressure, which was accepted by the high court.

It is clear that the case is currently being heard in the Supreme Court of India, and the Supreme Court of India has stayed the high court's decision. The present petition has been filed because other residents want to present documentary evidence in the Supreme Court. Local Jamiat Ulama officials, including Maulana Muqeem Qasmi (President, Jamiat Ulama, Nainital district), Maulana Muhammad Qasim (General Secretary, Jamiat Ulama, Nainital district), Maulana Muhammad Asim (City President, Jamiat Ulama Haldwani), Mufti Luqman, Dr. Adnan, Abdul Hasib, and others, have assisted the affected residents in filing the petition in the Supreme Court.