India, June 9 -- The Delhi high court has ruled that encroachers do not have the right to incessantly occupy public land until their rehabilitation claims are resolved as it is to the detriment of the public at large.

Justice Dharmesh Sharma in a ruling delivered on Friday dismissed pleas filed by more than 200 residents of Bhoomiheen Camp in southeast Delhi's Govindpuri challenging the Delhi Development Authority's (DDA) decision to demolish their huts and refusal to rehabilitate them as per the Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015 (2015 policy)

"The right to rehabilitation arises solely from the prevailing policy that binds them. The determination of eligibility for rehabilitation is a separate process from the...