Residents of Sanjay labour colony at Industrial Area, Chandigarh have filed a petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking to quash the notice issued by the Chandigarh Administration and restraining its authorities from carrying on the eviction of petitioners from their jhuggis (houses) in Sanjay Labour colony at Phase-I, Chandigarh. Meanwhile, the Chandigarh Administration has submitted before HC that no such exercise is being carried out by them in the said colony. The Senior Standing counsel for UT, Anil Mehta submitted before HC that, as of now, the 21-day period of notice has not expired and therefore, the petitioners have approached this Court merely with an apprehension that the demolition drive will be carried out before the said period. He stated that the notice period is not expiring on May 22, as is the apprehension of the petitioners. On the other hand, the petitioners, Mohan Sahni and others, through counsel Rohit Joshi and Sanjeev K Yadav, contended that the colony’s water tank has been demolished and even the toilets are being dismantled and removed. The UT counsel on instructions from Harjeet Singh Sandhu, Assistant Estate Officer, Chandigarh, stated that no such exercise is being carried out by the respondents in the said colony. The division Bench of Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Sandeep Moudgil, after hearing the matter, deferred it to May 23, 2022.
