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Two days back, the petition was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India, who had agreed to list the petition on today i.e., August 16.
The Supreme Court today granted status quo on the demolitions being conducted by Railways near the Krishna Janmabhoomi site in Mathura.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose, Sanjay Kumar, and SVN Bhatti has issued notice on the petition and ordered status quo for ten days.
Senior Advocate Prashanto Chandra Sen argued today that the petition might become infructuous if the demolition drive was allowed to continue.
"When we approached this court on Monday, all courts in Uttar Pradesh were closed. The authorities have now bulldozed over 100 houses, only some are left..", Sen said.
On Monday, the case was mentioned before a CJI Chandrachud led bench which was told that demolitions were being carried out at the Krishna Janmabhoomi of settlements existing since 1800s.
CJI had then asked the petitioner to approach the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court for relief.
Last week, the government began a demolition drive in Mathura, bulldozing as many as 135 houses in the Nai Basti, a settlement along the railway track in the backyard of the Krishna Janmabhoomi.
These houses were marked as illegal encroachments on government land. Railways has sought to defend this move by citing a plan to convert the 21 km stretch from Mathura to Vrindavan from narrow to broad gauge.
Under these circumstances, local resident Yakub Shah approached the Supreme Court under Article 32, seeking an urgent hearing.
Shah has alleged that the demolition is being carried out in a predominantly Muslim populated area. A challenge against eviction notices issued is also pending before the local court in Mathura.
Case Title: Yakub Shah vs. Union of India & Ors
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