Lawfully yours: By Retired Justice K Chandru | Even encroachers generally entitled to be removed only through due process of law

Even encroachers generally entitled to be removed only through due process of law

By issuing an order to destroy the Madrasi Camp encroachment on the Barapullah drain, the Delhi High Court has articulated its responsibility to maintain environmental safeguards. But the ruling didn't take into consideration that the hamlet had continued to exist for three decades.

That impromptu connection to the electrical and water systems impeding the normal flow of runoff and obstructions in the drain, causing urban flooding, should not be an argument to choke the lives of hundreds whom the authorities see as an eyesore. Is there anything the displaced or their well-wishers could do at this juncture?

-- R Sabareesan, Guindy

Removal of slum dwellers and pavement dwellers from their abodes has become a constant battle between the government and the poor. Two decades back, when a judge in the Madurai Bench gave the order to remove all encroachers without any notice, a full bench of the court headed by Justice PK Misra held that even encroachers are generally entitled to be removed by due process of law only. The same principle was reiterated by the Supreme Court in a case known as 'In Re: Directions in the matter of demolition of structures'. In 1984, in a PIL filed by me in the Supreme Court, it was held that the slum dwellers are entitled to an alternative accommodation. However, all these safeguards are always thrown to the wind.

--

We hardly have any constitutional morality imbibed in us; EC autonomy was one such

Reacting to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s charges of a sharp surge in the number of electors in the Maharashtra Assembly polls, when compared to the previous Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission of India has stated that it will respond only to a formal plea highlighting relevant issues with supporting evidence. Do you think a constitutional body, such as the ECI, whose transparency is vital for a thriving democracy, can shrug off its responsibility in the face of allegations made in the public domain? Similar charges have been made regarding electoral rolls in West Bengal and other states as well. Even as the Centre is shying away from accommodating the CJI in the panel to select election commissioners, do you see the poll panel waiting for a formal complaint and letting go of the overall perspective on its functioning as a wise thing to do?

-- R Manimekalai, Kilkattalai, Chennai

When the Supreme Court held that the CJI must be part of the selection committee to select the Chief Election Commissioner to ensure its autonomy overnight, the Modi govt brought a law to legislate a law to have a different selection committee. We hardly have any constitutional morality imbibed in us.