The Allahabad High Court has directed the district magistrate (DM) and station house officer (SHO) to take appropriate legal action in response to the alleged illegal construction of a temple in an Awas Vikas Parishad public park at Buddh Vihar, Majhola in Moradabad district, Uttar Pradesh.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Vikas Budhwar instructed the Awas Evam Vikas Parishad, Moradabad, to file an exhaustive application with the DM and SHO concerned regarding the alleged illegal construction.
Illegal Construction of Temple
The division bench was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Neeraj Kumar Tyagi. The petitioner claims that certain individuals are illegally constructing a temple in a public park in the Awas Vikas Colony. Upon learning of the situation, the Awas Vikas executive engineer dispatched a junior engineer to the site and requested those involved in the construction to cease work, but the construction continued.
No Action Taken
Subsequently, the executive engineer approached the Majhola SHO. However, when no action was taken, he contacted the DM, but no action followed. As a result, the petitioner filed a petition in court seeking the removal of the illegal construction from the park.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel, Rajvendra Singh, argued that on October 29, 2009, the Uttar Pradesh government issued an order prohibiting the construction of temples, churches, mosques, gurdwaras, and other structures on public roads, parks, and public places. In this context, he urged the court to intervene and direct the relevant authorities to take appropriate action.
The petitioner also requested the court to grant him time to include those involved in the construction as respondents in the PIL.
After hearing the petitioner’s counsel, the court, in an order dated May 15, stated, “A perusal of the petition clearly indicates that construction is going on in the park, and despite the Awas Evam Vikas Parishad requiring the police to intervene and stop the illegal construction, apparently, nothing has been done either by the district administration or the police station concerned.”
The court scheduled the matter for further hearing on July 8, 2024.
