Haldwani: Demolition of 4,000 mostly Muslim homes blocked by India’s Supreme Court

Top court judge says individual cases will have to be examined as it is a ‘human issue’

India’s Supreme Court has stayed an order which called for the mass demolition of over 4,000 homes in the hill state of Uttarakhand.

The demolition, which was due to be carried out on Sunday, would have rendered over 50,000 people – the large majority of whom are Muslims – homeless.

The top court stayed an order by the local railway authorities, back by Uttarakhand state’s high court on 20 December, requiring the demolition of all “illegal encroachments” along the railway line in the Banbhulpura district of the town of Haldwani.