The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday refused to interfere in the ongoing proceedings related to the demolition of a house belonging to Mohammad Usman, who is currently in jail facing allegations of raping a minor girl.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice G. Narendra and Justice Alok Kumar Mehra observed that the matter was of a civil nature and directed that the decision regarding the demolition be taken by the competent development authority. The court further advised the petitioner to appear before the authority on the scheduled date of hearing.
The petition was filed by Usman’s wife, Husn Begum, who argued that since her husband was incarcerated, he was unable to respond to the demolition notice served by the authorities. She sought relief from the court, stating that the family was being targeted amid heightened communal tensions in Nainital following the rape allegations last month.
In the aftermath of the alleged incident, notices were issued by the local development authority proposing to demolish Usman’s house. Though the initial notices were later withdrawn, fresh notices were subsequently reissued, prompting Begum to approach the High Court.
The High Court, however, declined to grant any interim protection and directed that the matter be addressed by the district development authority, which is scheduled to hear the case on May 22.
