The Supreme Court docket on Tuesday dismissed a plea filed by the Central Bar Affiliation, Lucknow, challenging the Allahabad High Court’s direction to concern demolition notices towards legal professionals’ chambers allegedly constructed by encroaching upon public land and obstructing roads close to the Lucknow District Court docket advanced.
A Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta refused to intrude with the Excessive Court docket’s instructions, with Justice Nath taking a powerful view that unauthorised constructions can’t be protected merely as a result of they’re occupied by members of the Bar.
Through the listening to, Justice Nath questioned the placement of the buildings and the idea on which legal professionals have been looking for to retain them.
“The place is that this development located, you inform us first. Why in the principle street?” the decide requested.
Justice Nath additional noticed that unauthorised development couldn’t be justified on the bottom that the occupant was an elected office-bearer of a bar affiliation.
“You bask in unauthorised development and you then say I’m elected as president of the affiliation after which a member of the governing physique and subsequently I’ve a proper to proceed? No, all demolitions should happen,” the decide stated.
Justice Nath, who had served as a senior decide on the Allahabad Excessive Court docket, stated he had personally seen the scenario across the court docket premises and was conscious of the extent to which roads had allegedly been obstructed.
“I’ve seen it myself, I used to be there for 2 years as a senior decide. I do know what sort of development, how the roads have been obstructed, site visitors is totally obstructed,” he remarked.
The proceedings arose from the Allahabad Excessive Court docket’s August 6 order regarding round 72 alleged encroachers, most of them advocates, whose chambers and different buildings have been allegedly constructed over public pathways or public utility land close to the Lucknow District Court docket advanced. The Excessive Court docket had directed the Lucknow Municipal Company to concern notices to the occupants, giving them a possibility both to vacate the buildings or set up a lawful declare over the land and development. Failing that, demolition was to observe.
The dispute reached the Supreme Court docket after demolition notices have been issued, with the proposed motion reportedly scheduled for August 30. The Supreme Court docket had agreed on Monday to think about the problem to the Excessive Court docket order.
Throughout Tuesday’s listening to, Senior Advocate Adish Aggarwala urged that different area may maybe be allotted to the affected legal professionals. Counsel additionally proposed that the dispute be referred to mediation.
Justice Nath, nonetheless, appeared unconvinced by the suggestion, questioning whether or not mediation was an acceptable mechanism in a dispute regarding alleged encroachment by legal professionals.
“Mediation with legal professionals?” he remarked.
The Bench additionally burdened the significance of defending court docket premises from encroachments. Justice Nath noticed that if court docket premises themselves have been encroached upon, the query arose as to who can be accountable for their safety.
He recalled an occasion from his judicial expertise the place, throughout a go to to a district court docket, a lawyer had allegedly transformed the district decide’s designated parking area into a personal chamber.
“There isn’t a different approach to cope with this. Who’s going to guard the court docket premises. If there encroached upon on this matter who’s accountable for the safety? Legal professionals haven’t any form of qualms. As soon as I used to be visiting a district court docket, the district judges parking area was transformed by a lawyer to his personal chamber.”
Case : CENTRAL BAR ASSOCIATION v. STATE OF UP | Diary No. 51660-2026
