DEHRADUN: In a significant rebuke to the local administration, the Uttarakhand High Court on Friday ordered the Nainital Municipality to withdraw an encroachment notice issued against the house of Usman, an accused in a minor girl’s rape case, and directed the authorities to issue him an unconditional apology.The court described the action of the administration as “inappropriate” and took strong exception to the violation of procedural norms. Usman’s advocate, Dr Kartikeya Hari Gupta, argued before the court that the notice had been served in violation of the Supreme Court’s guidelines, which mandate a 15-day notice period prior to any encroachment removal.“The notice violated clear Supreme Court directives mandating a 15-day period before any encroachment removal, whereas the Municipality had provided only three days, and the accused was currently in jail,” said Advocate Gupta. He also pointed out that dozens of other residents from the same area had received similar notices.The matter was heard by a special bench comprising Chief Justice G. Narendra and Justice Ravindra Maithani. During the hearing, Senior Superintendent of Police, Nainital, Prahlad Narayan Meena joined via video conferencing, while the First and Second Executive Officers of the Nainital Municipality were present in court.
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