‘Stay order on demolition of illegal structures only till October 11’

Noting that there was no significant rise in Covid-19 cases in the city, the Bombay High Court has said it was not inclined to extend stay on demolition of illegal structures and eviction of tenants of such structures beyond October 11.

A full bench comprising chief justice Dipankar Datta and justices Amjad Sayed, SS Shinde, and PB Varale on Friday however extended the interim protection in five districts – Osmanabad, Ratnagiri, Pune, Ahmednagar, and Satara till October 21.

The High Court had taken up a suo moto PIL last year and stayed demolitions and evictions after nationwide lockdown. The HC has been extending interim relief to those unable to access justice because of the restricted functioning of the courts due to the pandemic.

Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhkoni submitted a chart to the court giving details of the positivity rate and the number of people vaccinated in the state. He said that about 91% of the population is partially vaccinated. He added that even though the positivity rate is increasing, it is not alarming. Kumbhkoni requested the court to not extend the interim order on stay of demolitions since normalcy has returned. Advocate Uday Warunjikar, appearing for the Advocates Association of Western India, sought that the interim order be extended saying that even though more than 90% were vaccinated, they were not fully vaccinated and hence not entitled to travel in public transport. Warunjikar pointed out that the number of cases in the five districts were more than the rest of Maharashtra combined.

The judges said that considering that there was a slight increase in positivity rate due to festivities, it was appropriate to continue the interim protection.