Madhya Pradesh HC bins PIL against ‘bulldozing’, MP government claims vindication

By Express News Service

BHOPAL:  The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed a PIL filed by a Jabalpur-based advocate against the ongoing demolition drive of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government. While dismissing the petition filed by local advocate Amitabha Gupta, a division bench of the MP High Court said that “we are of the considered view that it may not be appropriate to entertain this petition as a public interest litigation.

Even if the case of the petitioner is to be accepted that certain houses of certain persons have been demolished, necessarily those persons have a legal right to defend themselves in a manner known to the law”. “We do not see any nexus with the petitioner and the persons whose properties have been demolished. Therefore, it is for those persons to appropriately move the court for necessary order as they deem fit. We do not find any reason to entertain this petition on behalf of the present petitioner. Accordingly, the petition is dismissed,” the HC said in the order passed on Wednesday.

Reacting to the HC’s dismissal of the petition, state’s home minister Narottam Mishra said the court has put its affirmative seal on the action being initiated against the illegal properties and encroachments of land sharks and rioters. “The action initiated by the government is in accordance with law and not targeted at any group.”

The BJP government in the state is facing flak from opposition Congress, Muslim outfits and rights bodies over recent bulldozing of “illegal properties and encroachments” in the violence-hit Khargone and Sendhwa towns. 

Shah to attend mega event for tribals in MP Bhopal: The ruling BJP’s continued focus on tribal-dominated seats of Madhya Pradesh will see Union home minister Amit Shah gracing a tribal-centric event in Bhopal on Friday. Shah would attend a grand event to credit bonus money into the accounts of tendu leaves collectors from across the state, at the MP capital’s Jamboree Maidan.

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