{
  "id": 16283309,
  "title": "Eviction, demolition of shops without rehabilitation violation of rights: Allahabad High Court to UP health dept",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/eviction-demolition-of-shops-without-rehabilitation-violation-of",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-24T05:05:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/eviction-demolition-of-shops-without-rehabilitation-compensation-violation-of-rights-allahabad-high-court-to-up-health-dept-10934716/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Allahabad High Court has harshly criticized the eviction and demolition of legally allocated shops to make way for a super-specialty hospital in Ayodhya. A bench of Justices Shekhar B Saraf and Amitabh Kumar Rai expressed concern over the matter in an order dated October 12. They noted that despite the petitioners being granted the shops and treated as lessees under the rules governing such allotments, they were asked to leave without determining their leases or any proposal for rehabilitation or compensation. This, the court emphasized, violates Articles 19 and 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantee the right to livelihood and personal liberty, respectively. The court is particularly troubled by the fact that the construction of the 300-bed hospital is in the public interest, but the sudden eviction of the affected shopkeepers, who were earning their livelihood, is unjustifiable. The court is seeking a response from the Uttar Pradesh Medical and Health Department regarding the steps they plan to take for the rehabilitation of the petitioners or compensation for the loss of their shops. The case was brought forth by six affected shopkeepers who had approached the High Court to set aside the eviction order issued by the Ayodhya District Magistrate on July 31. The petitioners are small shopkeepers who were allotted the shops by the Sitapur Eye Hospital Society in Faizabad on a lease basis for 30 years in 2000. They paid a registration fee of Rs 500 and Rs 25,000 as security for the allotment after the shops were built by the Sitapur Eye Hospital. The allotment was based on an auction, and the shopkeepers were handed over possession in February 2000. The court pointed out that the possession letter indicated a 30-year leasehold, renewable every 30 years. The District Magistrate's notice dated June 26, 2025, stating that the land with the shops had been transferred to the Department of Health and Family Welfare and that the shopkeepers had to vacate within 15 days led to the filing of a writ petition in the High Court. The District Magistrate subsequently decided the representation in favor of the hospital, but the court has directed the Medical and Health Department to file a counter affidavit within three weeks, detailing the measures they intend to take for the rehabilitation or compensation of the affected shopkeepers. The matter is now listed for hearing on November 16 as a fresh case.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Allahabad High Court criticizes eviction and demolition of shops.",
    "Shops were legally allocated to petitioners as lessees.",
    "Court concerns violation of Articles 19 and 21 of Indian Constitution."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Prioritizing infrastructure development at the expense of established livelihoods forces state departments to reconcile public interest projects with the constitutional protections afforded to legal lessees.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Dawn - Pakistan",
        "title": "Peshawar High Court stops NCCIA from issuing final appointment orders to fill its posts",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/peshawar-high-court-stops-nccia-from-issuing-final-appointment-orders",
        "published": "2026-10-24T05:01:05.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}