The Supreme Court put a hold on the uprooting of people from their homes in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, who were facing a bleak winter season with nowhere else to go. This was welcomed by thousands of individuals, grateful for being given another chance.

The Supreme Court weighed in on the long-running case, emphasizing that it is a human matter and that a viable solution must be sought. Consequently, they overturned an Uttarakhand High Court order to evict over 50,000 people living in around 4,000 homes overnight.

The Supreme Court disagreed with the high court's idea of using force to remove those who had been inhabiting the area for a long period, suggesting it is inappropriate to deploy paramilitary forces.

The Supreme Court took up a case the day after it was formally requested by activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice A.S. Oka ordered a halt to all work in the area and asked for responses from the Indian Railways and Uttarakhand government. The case has been set to be heard again next month, granting respite to locals who have held vigils, sit-ins, and protest marches to challenge the eviction proceedings.

This 2-km stretch near the Haldwani railway station includes Gafoor Basti, Dholak Basti and Indira Nagar in Banbhulpura. Across this area there are numerous houses of which almost half have been leased with land. Additionally four government schools, 11 private schools, one bank, two water towers, 10 mosques, four temples and countless shops have been established over years of inhabiting.

The case landed in court in 2013, originally concerning the unlawful extraction of sand from a river closeby. After a lengthy trial, the court ordered that the local authority publish a notice in newspapers, instructing people to remove their possessions before January 9.

Activists and politicians accused the BJP government of taking action against an area where the majority were Muslim. In response, Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Harish Rawat demonstrated in protest, with an 'maun vrat' (vow of silence) at his home in Dehradun.

Mr Dhami has declared that Uttarakhand is a spiritual state, and expressed how deeply saddening it would be to witness the displacement of 50,000 people, comprising children, pregnant women and elderly men and women, from their homes. The government has promised to honour the ruling of the Supreme Court.

(This news is originally sourced from different online sources and is edited to remove plagiarism. Images are also sourced from the internet and are edited. No violation of copyright is intended.)

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