Delhi HC Gives 350+ Slum Dwellers Near PM's Residence 6 Weeks To Vacate, Orders Rehabilitation Monitoring

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed more than 350 people, residing in three slum clusters near the Prime Minister's residence in the Race Course area of the national capital, to vacate their dwellings within six weeks.

These slum dwellers have been asked to relocate to Savda Ghevra, where the authorities have arranged alternative accommodation, legal news website Bar and Bench said.

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A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said that after 6 weeks, the government can clear the land with the help of the police.

"The appellants shall vacate the dwelling in the three jhuggi jhopris within six weeks from today. And within this period, they shall be provided with the accommodations allotted to them in DUSIB Colony. Whereafter, they shall be evicted to clear the land, if necessary, with the assistance of the police," the Court ordered, as reported by Bar and Bench.

The High Court noted that there had been no violation of the rehabilitation policy in moving the residents in this case.

The Court said that the government will be bound by its undertakings and by the Court's previous orders requiring the availability of amenities at DUSIB Colony.

HC also forms a committee to monitor

The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, or DUSIB, is a Delhi government body that designates certain areas as Slums where, over time, buildings have become dilapidated and basic civic services are lacking.

The Delhi High Court also constituted a committee under former Delhi judge Manmohan Sharma to monitor the rehabilitation of residents and to ensure that the amenities promised to them by the government are provided. The committee will also include members from various departments of the Delhi and Central governments.

The court asked the government to notify the constitution of this committee immediately.

The court was hearing appeals filed by residents of Bhai Ram Camp, DID Camp, and Masjid Camp against a single judge's order upholding their eviction from these camps. The camps are located near the Race Course area, and the residents are being relocated to a DUSIB Colony in Savda Ghevra, outer Delhi.

What was the petition?

Groups of residents of these three slums approached the High Court, stating that shifting hundreds of families far from their current homes would disrupt livelihoods, education and access to healthcare. They said that many of them work as drivers, domestic workers, and labourers in central Delhi, and that relocation would put their jobs and schooling at risk.

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The Central government defended the eviction, citing national security concerns and stating that the camps are located next to sensitive military installations near an operational Air Force station.

After considering the case, the single judge passed an order on 11 May 2026, directing the residents to leave the area in 15 days.

The appellants shall vacate the dwelling in the three jhuggi jhopris within six weeks from today.

While disposing of the residents' appeals against this judgment, the Division Bench on 25 August modified the order, giving them 6 weeks to leave the area.

(With Bar and Bench inputs)

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