An anti-encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri, Delhi has been stopped, within minutes of it starting, by the Supreme Court after an exceptional hearing for which it was approached by the country’s top lawyers. The CJI ordered status quo to be observed and listed the matter for hearing tomorrow.

Jahangirpuri was hit with communal violence on Saturday after a Hindu festival procession was suddenly attacked by a large Muslim mob – several policemen accompanying the procession were injured in the process. The area has long been known as a hub of crime, illegal immigrant settlements, and anti-Hindu acts. Large-scale illegal encroachments are a known issue there, and pressure grew on authorities to finally take some action as news of the pre-planned violence and police complicity with the key accused Ansar Sheikh spread.

The demolition drive was started today morning by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation authorities under a “Special Join Encrocachment Removal Programme” at Jahangirpuri. But within minutes, a bench led by the Chief Justice of India ordered status quo on a mentioning made by Senior Advoate Dushyant Dave. “Something serious little requires your immediate intervention. Completely unconstitutional and illegal demolition has been ordered in jahangurpuri area,” Dave told the CJI.

“Maintain status quo. List before appropriate bench tomorrow”, the CJI ordered. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal also requested that the petition filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH, a body of leading Deobandi clerics) against similar actions (of razing illegal properties) taken by authorities in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat against riots accused, also be listed, to which the CJI agreed. The plea seeks a declaration that “properties of accused cannot be demolished as a punitive measure as such a punishment is unknown to criminal law”. Also, there is “no due process and fair trial given before the demolition of houses,” the petitioner states.

What such legal arguments cleverly side-step is that the illegal properties, mostly built on encroached land, being demolished now have been served notices in the past. But authorities, most likely to maintain ‘communal harmony’ and avoid ‘law & order disturbance’, delayed taking action till now. It is reported that other Lutyens/Congress/Nehruvian ecosystem lawyers like Sanjay Hegde and Prashant Bhushan were also involved in representing the plea(s) against the demolition drive.

Simultaneously, Delhi High Court also agreed to listen to a plea against demolition drive in Jahangirpuri. The HC bench asked the Additional solicitor general ( ASG) to be prepared with instructions by 2 PM. Interestingly, just a month back, the Delhi HC termed it “unfortunate” that two government authorities appear to be washing their hands of encroachment of public land and streets in Okhla Industrial area. The HC had directed Delhi’s municipal and other authorities to chalk out a programme to remove illegal constructions.

In another development, it has emerged that Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind has decided to fight the legal battle in defense of prime accused Ansar Sheikh. The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH, a dangerous, fundamentalist Islamic body founded by Abul A’la Maududi) has flipped the Jahagirpuri violence on its head, claiming that ‘Muslims were targeted in a pre-planned manner with complicity of Delhi Police’.