Jahangirpuri Demolition: North Delhi Municipal Corporation termed the allegations "blatant falsehood".
"No house" was demolished during the anti-encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri on April 20 and the exercise did not target any community, the BJP-controlled civic body of north Delhi told the Supreme Court today.
In its response to the petitions challenging the exercise in Jahangirpuri, which saw a communal clash days before the demolition drive, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation termed the allegations "blatant falsehood" and sought action against the petitioners.
The petitioners in the matter are Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and the CPM.
In its affidavit, the north Delhi civic body said only projections on the public road, unauthorised temporary structures and shops were removed during the drive.
It added that the building line remained intact and sacks of garbage and structures well beyond the boundary of the houses and shops were removed.
Contesting the petitioners' contention that no notice was issued by the civic body, the NDMC argued that it did not need to issue any advance notice for such action as per provisions of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act.
The civic body alleged that the petitioners have deliberately suppressed information to "sensationalise" the issue.
Countering the criticism over the bulldozers continuing their work even after the Supreme Court ruling, the civic body said such drives will continue till the court's stay order is shown to the authorities.
"It is always a common experience that whenever the law enforcing agencies exercise their powers of removal of unauthorized projections and other encroachments under Section 322 of the Act, the affected parties mislead the authorities by wrongly contending that there is a stay by the court," the civic body submitted.
It added that the drive was stopped after a legal consultant of the civic body verified the court's order to maintain the status quo. It also alleged that despite the Supreme Court order, those whose structures were removed and returned and occupied the footpath again.