Supreme Court stayed a Dec 20 direction of the U’khand HC to the Indian Railways and the district administration to use paramilitary forces to evict thousands of poor families occupying railway land in Haldwani district within a week.

A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and A.S. Oka remarked that some of these people have been living on the land for 50 to 70 years and could not be evicted within a week.

The court said the issue has a “human angle”.  Many proceedings under the Public Premises Act were instituted ex parte against the families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“They cannot be uprooted overnight from the land... Somebody has to go into the need for rehabilitation while recognising the need of the Railways,” Justice Kaul said.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said  the land around the Kathgodam Railway Station could not be developed and there is a need to open the State to more rail traffic, with Haldwani the nearest location.

Defense counsel, appearing for the various affected families, said over 5,000 families were affected.  Proceedings against them pertaining to the Public Premises Act were still on. The High Court order had come out of the blue and was ex parte.