The Allahabad High Court on Thursday disposed of a petition filed by the Samajwadi Party (SP) challenging a notice that had directed it to vacate its Sitapur district office, after the municipal authority concerned withdrew the notice earlier in the day.
A division bench comprising Justices Rajan Roy and A.K. Chaudhary noted that since the January 7 eviction notice had been formally withdrawn by the Nagar Palika Parishad of Sitapur, there remained no cause for the court to intervene at this stage.
The writ petition was filed by the Samajwadi Party through Chhatrapal Singh, president of its Sitapur unit, after the Nagar Palika had issued a 15-day notice directing the party to vacate its office premises.
During the hearing on Wednesday, SP’s counsel Gaurav Mehrotra argued that the eviction notice was defective and invalid, pointing out that the party held possession of the premises based on a registered lease deed. He further submitted that any attempt to annul the lease required appropriate proceedings in a civil suit.
However, in Thursday’s hearing, the counsel for the Nagar Palika Parishad, S.C. Kashish, informed the court that the notice had already been withdrawn the same day and that any future action regarding the premises would be taken in accordance with applicable rules.
Recording the submission, the bench disposed of the petition while granting liberty to the Samajwadi Party to seek legal remedy afresh should any further attempt be made to evict it from the property.
The High Court’s order effectively closes the current chapter in the dispute but leaves the door open for future legal proceedings if the matter resurfaces. The Court clarified that the petitioner would be free to challenge any subsequent action “in accordance with law”.
