New Delhi, 27 April (H.S.): The Supreme Court of India has refused to hear a petition challenging the ongoing demolition drive in Gurugram and has instead asked the petitioners to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court. A Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant disposed of the plea, granting the petitioners liberty to make an urgent mentioning before the Chief Justice of the High Court on the same day and requesting the High Court to hear the matter immediately.

Senior advocate Gopal Shankarnarayanan, appearing for the petitioners, told the Supreme Court that the local administration in Gurugram is carrying out demolition work without issuing proper notices and is allegedly misinterpreting the High Court’s interim order. When the Bench asked where the alleged misinterpretation should be corrected, the Court itself observed that the High Court is the appropriate forum if its own order is being wrongly applied.

Shankarnarayanan clarified that the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s interim order had not explicitly mentioned demolition, and he urged the Supreme Court to stay the drive for three to four days while the petitioners moved the High Court. The Supreme Court, however, reiterated that the matter is to be taken up before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had earlier stayed Haryana’s “stilt‑plus‑four‑floor” housing policy over concerns that the state was prioritising revenue over public safety and infrastructure constraints.

By turning down the direct petition and routing the litigants back to the High Court, the Supreme Court has effectively left the immediate control of the Gurugram demolition campaign to the regional judiciary, at least in the short term.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar