Uttam Nagar Holi Clash: Delhi High Court Orally Asks MCD Not To Demolish Homes Of Accused Till Tomorrow

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (March 10) orally told the MCD not to take any action until tomorrow against the properties of two persons who are booked in an FIR over the death of a man at Uttam Nagar during Holi celebrations last week.

During the hearing, Justice Amit Bansal orally told the respondent authorities including the MCD not to take any action against the properties of the petitioners and listed the matter for hearing tomorrow. 

One of the petition states that the petitioner is the lawful owner of the house situated at JJ Colony in Uttam Nagar, New Delhi and has been residing for the last 4 decades. It was submitted that the Petitioner and her husband have been regularly paying electricity bills and other municipal charges in respect of the said residential property

The plea states that on March 5 an FIR was registered under Section 110(Attempt to commit culpable homicide), 3(5) (common intention) BNS in relation to a local altercation between neighbours.

The petitioner claims that the incident allegedly arose from a trivial dispute involving children playing with balloons, which resulted in a verbal altercation and minor scuffle between two neighbouring families. However, the petitioners claim that despite the fact that the dispute was purely personal, certain elements attempted to maliciously give a communal colour to the incident.

The plea alleges that on March 7 a mob unlawfully gathered in the locality and allegedly spread misinformation portraying the incident as a communal attack and certain members of various organizations allegedly entered the house of the accused persons by breaking open the locks and doors and vandalized the premises, setting it on fire.

The petitioners allege that on March 8 the MCD demolished the entire residential structure of an accused person using bulldozers, without issuing any prior notice, show cause notice, or giving an opportunity of hearing to the affected persons.

The plea claims that the demolition was carried out arbitrarily, immediately after the registration of the FIR, which creates a strong apprehension that the demolition was undertaken as a punitive measure merely because the occupants were implicated in the criminal case.

The plea submits that the doors and locks of the petitioner's house, who is the mother of another accused person, were broken open by the public and she apprehends that her house might be demolished.

The petition thus seeks a direction to protect the house of the petitioner from arbitrary and illegal demolition by the MCD without following due process of law and against the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in Re: Directions in the matter of Demolition of Structures (2024). 

The petitioners are represented by advocates Divyesh Pratap Singh, Amit Sangwan, Bharat Mishra.

The matter is listed on Wednesday. 

Case title: Jarina v/s State (NCT of Delhi ) & Anr. and Shahnaz v/s State (NCT of Delhi) & Anr. 

WP 3020 of 2026, WP 3021 of 2026