‘300 families have fled’: Nuh Zila Parishad member to Punjab & Haryana HC

Yahooda told The Indian Express that he wanted to highlight the issues surrounding lack of rehabilitation for those whose houses were demolished. “Over 300 families have been affected due to this drive, and they have not been given temporary accommodation after their houses were brought down. Either notice was not sent or they were backdated, and on top of this, there is water and food shortage. This targeting of one community should be brought to light,” he said.

“More than 300 families have left their homes in over three dozen villages to head to Rajasthan and other states. A team of police officials have started taking steps to arrest innocent individuals without serving any notice,” Yahooda submitted in his application filed through Advocate Mohammad Arshad.

He further pointed out that a panchayat has decided to boycott members of the Muslim community. “It carried an appeal to deny houses, shops and establishments to the Muslim community on rent. Furthermore, villagers are also scrutinizing the identification proof of street vendors before allowing them entry into the villages in three districts — Mahendragarh, Jhajjar and Rewari. The villagers had collectively wrote to the police and district administrations, informing them of their decision to boycott members of the Muslim community,” he submitted.

The applicant contended that the demolition of houses without serving any notice and providing alternative accommodation is in violation of Supreme Court’s ruling in Olga Tellis versus Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay in 1985.

“The demolition is a violation of the Right to Life guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution of India…If a person is evicted from the place where he is residing and his shanty is demolished, he will certainly lose his livelihood,” he contended.

Yahooda, on behalf of the affected residents, sought the intervention of the the high court, alleging violation of constitutional and statutory rights by the respondents. The applicant claimed that the respondents were forcibly evicting long-standing residents of Nalhar and other regions of Mewat-Nuh, without adhering to proper legal procedures and principles of natural justice, despite the houses being their shelter for generations.

Yahooda said that more than 50 families had resided in houses within the Nalhar locality for a minimum of 30 years. These families had obtained essential documents such as electricity connections, ration cards, voter ID cards, and Aadhaar through proper government channels, affirming the existence of these families for several decades.

On Monday, the high court, taking suo motu cognizance of the demolition drive, had questioned whether the properties of a specific community were being targeted under the pretext of a law and order issue, raising concerns about ethnic cleansing.

A Division Bench of Justices G S Sandhawalia and Harpreet Kaur Jeewan had pointed out that any ongoing demolition should be halted if proper legal procedures are not followed.