Disclaimer: This has been reported after the availability of the order of the Court and not on media reports so as to give an accurate report to our readers.
Allahabad High Court: In a writ petition, the petitioner sought order to restrain the respondent authorities from carrying out further demolition of his residential structures situated in Bareilly, the Division Bench of Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Kunal Ravi Singh, JJ., granted the petitioners liberty to file applications under Sections 14 and 15 of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act 1973 (‘UP Act’), along with a compounding application for such portions of the construction as are compoundable under the Rules framed under the said Act. Thus, the Court ordered a status quo to be maintained until the disposal of the said applications.
The matter came up following the Supreme Court’s order in Farhat Jahan v. State of UP1 as it declined to entertain the petition under Article 32 of the Constitution but allowed the petitioners to approach the jurisdictional High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution to seek urgent listing, noting that demolition had already begun. The Supreme Court granted one week of interim protection while clarifying that the said protection should not influence the High Court, which must decide the stay request independently on its own merit.
The petitioners contended that the authorities directly proceeded with demolition without taking recourse to the procedure prescribed under the UP Act.
Per contra, the respondent argued that the petitioner concealed material facts and further stated that it found out that husband of Petitioner 1 had constructed a Marriage Hall without obtaining the required approval or sanctioned map and that notices were duly issued under Section 27(1) of the UP Act. Despite that, the petitioners neither appeared before the Bareilly Development Authority nor furnished any evidence or reply.
The Court stated that it was not inclined to adjudicate the matter on merits at the given stage, however, to ensure fairness, granted the petitioners liberty to file applications under Sections 14 and 15 of the UP Act, along with a compounding application for such portions of the construction as are compoundable under the Rules framed under the UP Act. Further, the Court stated that the said applications should be filed within two weeks before the Vice-Chairman, Bareilly Development Authority.
The Court directed the Vice-Chairman to process and decide the applications strictly in accordance with law, including the building byelaws, compounding rules, and other relevant provisions of the Act and the Rules, within six weeks of filing.
The Court stated that until the disposal of these applications, all parties should maintain status quo regarding the property, and no further demolition should be carried out by the authorities. Further, the Court directed that there would be no development, construction, alteration, or any activity contrary to the applicable master plan or zonal plan.
Thus, the Court disposed of the petition at hand.
[Farhat Jahan v. State of UP, Writ C No. 43640 of 2025, decided on 10-12-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the Petitioner: Mandeep Singh and Sani Kumar
For the Respondent: C.S.C. and Dharmendra Singh Chauhan
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1. W.P. (C) No. 1207/2025