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'Some of the High Courts, we don’t know what will happen. This is one of the High Courts one should be worried about. Filing has collapsed, the listing has collapsed, and nobody knows what will happen,' Justice Kant orally remarked today expressing concern over functioning of Allahabad High Court
Supreme Court of India today ordered status quo in an evacuee property case involving MLA Abbas Ansari.
"This application alleges that the writ petition has been listed on several occasions, but no effective hearing has taken place. No interim protection has been granted to the petitioner, whereas all other similarly situated writ petitioners have been protected against dispossession, demolition, or fresh construction at the disputed site", Justice Surya Kant led-bench said. The Bench, also comprising Justice N Kotiswar Singh, noted that since the court had not issued a notice and had not obtained any report from the Registry of the High Court, it was not inclined to express any opinion on the circumstances that prevented the petitioner’s writ petition from being taken up despite being listed multiple times. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Abbas Ansari, informed the court that the matter had not been taken up at all by the Allahabad High Court. He remarked, "Six dates have gone by. It was listed again yesterday. If High Courts behave this way, where will citizens go? This is the largest High Court in the country. Your Lordship may consider staying the proceedings." Notably, MLA Abbas Ansari has approached the Apex Court seeking relief in a case concerning evacuee property. Ansari claims that the matter is not being taken up and that construction has begun on the plot in question, with dwelling units being built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. It is Ansari's case that his grandfather allegedly purchased a share in Plot No. 93, located in Village Jiainau, Lucknow The property was subsequently bequeathed to Ansari. However, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Dalibagh, Lucknow, reportedly passed an ex parte order declaring the plot as evacuee property, i.e., government property. In August 2023, Ansari and his brother were dispossessed of the property in August 2023.
In October 2024, the Apex Court had directed that the matter be listed before the Division Bench of the High Court, Lucknow Bench, for the hearing of the petitioner’s plea seeking an interim stay at the earliest.
On 18th October, the Apex Court granted bail to Abbas Ansari in two separate cases, one investigated by the Enforcement Directorate and the other by the Uttar Pradesh Police. However, Ansari has yet to secure bail in a criminal case registered under the Gangsters' Act.
Case Title: Abbas Ansari v State of UP
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