Orders for eviction, demolition, dispossession to remain in abeyance till October 31 in view of grim COVID-19 situation: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has passed an order clarifying that orders pertaining to eviction or demolition or dispossession passed by any lower court will be abeyance till October 31, 2020..The Full Bench comprising of Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justices AA Sayed, SS Shinde and KK Tated passed the order today in the suo-motu writ petition registered to monitor accessibility to courts and allied issues during the lockdown. .The order passed today states,."The situation in Maharashtra, because of the pandemic, continues to be grim. Normal functioning of the Courts is yet to be restored. The litigant public may not suffer for no fault on their part. In such view of the matter, we consider it just and appropriate to extend the interim order passed on this suo motu petition, which is due to expire today, till October 31, 2020 on the same terms as directed earlier.".The Bench clarified that this order was applicable to every court, tribunal and authority in Maharashtra and Goa. .The Bench was approached by the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) with respect to an order of the National Green Tribunal, Western Zone, which had directed the corporation to evict certain encroachments..In their plea before the Court, PCMC sought relaxation in the Court's earlier stay order so that PCMC could comply with the Tribunal order. .After a brief discussion amongst themselves, the Bench enquired with Advocate GH Keluskar, appearing for the PCMC, whether he had informed the Tribunal of the continuing High Court order of abeyance when the matter was listed before the Tribunal on June 16. .Keluskar informed the Court that he was unaware of what had transpired in the NGT hearing. He assured the court that he would inform the Tribunal about the same in the next hearing which was on October 15..The Bench informed that considering the ongoing pandemic, and how the situation in Maharashtra has not improved, they were not inclined to relax their earlier order of abeyance.."Similar orders have been passed in all High Courts throughout the country."the Bench noted..The Bench, however, refused to stay the eviction order of the Tribunal as the concerned people who would be affected by that order were not before the Court. All the same, it directed Advocate Keluskar to inform the Tribunal about the extension of their stay order in the next hearing.."We do not want anyone homeless in this pandemic."the Chief Justice remarked..In a previous hearing of the matter, the Court had directed all authorities to move slowly when it comes to eviction, demolition and dispossession notices, so that no citizen is compelled to come to Court during the pandemic..The Court had passed the first such stay order on March 26, which was extended from time to time..Read the order passed today: