No eviction from Tahirpur complex till Jan 30: govt to HC

The AAP government today assured Delhi High Court that there will be no eviction of anyone staying in unauthorised constructions at the Tahirpur Leprosy complex in East Delhi till January 30.
The response came in the backdrop of the plea filed by two minors, who are residents of Tahirpur complex, seeking "sympathetic consideration" from the authorities.
Appearing for the minors before a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal, senior advocate Salman Khurshid said there was a demolition order and even the single judge of this court has not granted any relief.
However, the counsel for the Delhi government said the petitioner in appeal against the single judge's January 17 order was not party to the proceedings there and hence the plea should not be entertained.

To this, Khurshid submitted that he should be allowed to file proper application in this regard, but till that time the authorities should "hold their hands".
Allowing the petitioner to file an application, the bench said if the authorities are contemplating any steps, they should wait till January 30.

The counsel for AAP government then said, "till Monday (January 30) we can hold our hands, no problem".
The minors have approached the larger bench challenging the single judge's decision dismissing the pleas filed by those who had encroached in the area.
The single judge had refused to interfere with the order of demolition issued by the authorities on December 23, 2016.

Seeking setting aside of the single judge's order, the petitioners' counsel had said the decision has "virtually left the residents of Tahirpur Complex homeless, amidst peak winters, which is an outright violation of the Right to Life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution."
The single judge had lamented that despite the government setting aside valuable land and money for maintenance of the complex at Tahirpur area here, the leprosy affected patients have been forced to squat and beg outside in public places due to the encroachment and illegal construction there.
The verdict had come as the single judge had dismissed the pleas by the residents of the unauthorised colonies which have come up on the land meant for the leprosy patients, against the eviction and demolition notices.