SC: Sahara can set up temporary fencing

The court appointed senior counsel L Nageshwar Rao as the special officer who would oversee the work on restoring the tin fencing on June 28-29 and submit his report to the Registrar of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court.

The bench also disposed of a contempt petition filed against Sahara by LDA. “It would not be in the interest of the parties to keep the matter pending, as it would only delay the matter and lead to other proceedings in this court,” the court said.

Sahara had filed a contempt petition on Tuesday after LDA razed down a temporary fence at Sahara City on June 23, within hours of the apex court ordering a status quo in the matter. LDA too had moved the apex court, blaming SICCL of violating the order.

The bench also set aside the interim order passed by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on June 19 and 20 that restrained LDA from demolishing the property and restoring possession of the land to SICCL. The apex court said the parties will maintain status quo existing on June 23.

“In our view, the status quo order should supplement the interim order passed by the High Court with certain modifications…. As the fencing was removed, SICCL will be entitled to restore the fencing in place where the boundary wall originally existed under the supervision of the special officer appointed by us,” the bench said.

While disposing the two contempt petitions filed by SICCL and LDA against each other and the appeal filed by the UP Government, the apex court made it clear that it had not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case. It also directed them not to seek unnecessary adjournments in the High Court so that the matter is disposed of with “utmost expediency.”

Meanwhile, heads have started rolling in UP after the Supreme Court order on LDA’s demolition drive, with the Government removing Principal Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department Harminder Raj Singh from his position. It has also replaced vice-chairman of the LDA Ram Bahadur.

A Government spokesman said V Rajgopalan from the Small Scale Industries Department had replaced Raj. Mahesh Kumar Meshram will succeed Ram Bahadur. The state Government also transferred LDA additional secretary Yogesh Kumar Shukla, the spokesman added.

He also said Ashish Kumar Goyal, Special Secretary in Rural Development Department, has been made the District Magistrate of Chitrakoot, replacing Anamika Singh who has been made Additional Secretary, Agriculture Production Commission.

With PTI