Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has termed the eviction of shopkeepers in Ayodhya for the construction of a 300-bed super-speciality hospital without rehabilitation or compensation as “highly condemnable”, observing that such action affects their right to livelihood and violates Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
Therefore, directing them to vacate the premises without first terminating their leases was unjustified. The court noted that the shops had been allotted on lease and the occupants had acquired the status of lessees.
However, the Ayodhya district magistrate issued a notice on June 26, 2025, directing the shopkeepers to vacate the premises within 15 days, stating that the land and shops had been transferred to the medical and family welfare department.
Subsequently, in an order dated July 31, 2026, the DM said the land was required for the construction of a hospital and that the shopkeepers had no right to continue occupying the premises. The high court has fixed Nov 16 as the next date of hearing. A division bench of Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Amitabh Kumar Rai observed that while the construction of the hospital was in the public interest, shopkeepers dependent on their businesses for their livelihood could not be evicted without alternative arrangements being made for them.
The petitioners had earlier approached the high court, which directed the authorities to maintain status quo until a decision was taken on their representation.