Mathura: Supreme Court Halts Demolition In Minority-Inhabited Area Near Krishna Janmasthan, Officials Claim Land Encroachment

The Supreme Court has instructed the railway authorities to maintain the current state of affairs for 10 days about the alleged encroachments on its land near Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.

During the proceedings before a three-judge bench led by Justice Aniruddha Bose, the petitioners explained that they had approached the Supreme Court because the courts in Uttar Pradesh were closed.

They also highlighted that a significant number of houses had already been demolished during this time.

The petitioners further revealed that out of the 200 houses, only 70-80 houses remained intact.

They argued that if the demolitions were allowed to continue, their petition would lose its relevance.

Additionally, the court has directed that the matter be listed again in one week.

The railway authorities have meanwhile stated that the demolitions were conducted as part of an anti-encroachment drive.

The purpose of this drive is to clear the land to convert the narrow gauge from Mathura to Vrindavan into a broad gauge.

The demolition operation took place early in the morning on Wednesday, (August 9), near the Shri Krishna Janmasthan in Mathura. This particular area is considered to be "sensitive" and required careful planning.

Under the supervision of local authorities, railway officials, and a substantial police force, a bulldozer was used to demolish over 100 houses in the Nai Basti locality.

The Nai Basti locality is predominantly occupied by a minority population.

It has been alleged that there were "illegally developed" structures on government land in this area.

Despite prior notifications being issued to the residents, they decided to take the matter to the civil court.