Residents of Jai Hind Camp, mostly Bengali-speaking migrant workers living without electricity since July 8, on Friday urged Delhi High Court to order authorities to restore their power connection.

Hearing the petition, Justice Mini Pushkarna issued notices to power distribution company BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd and Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), responsible for improving the living standard of slums and jhuggi-jhopdi dwellers, asking both to reply to the petition.

The case will be heard next on September 17.

Petitioners’ advocates Abhik Chimni and Rishabh Gupta told the court that electricity connections were cut on July 8 based on a civil court judgment dated May 14, 2024, that deemed them illegal.

Electricity supply in the camp — a crowded slum near Vasant Kunj — was being provided through a system of meters and sub-meters installed in two common community spaces, a temple and a mosque.

Around 3,000 camp residents are anxious about their future at this camp.

A civil court judgment dated February 12, 2020, ordered residents to vacate the camp and hand over the land to some local people claiming the area’s ownership.

After power supply was disconnected on July 8, residents’ fears mounted. A district court order on July 19, staying the eviction order till August 8, came as interim relief.

The petitioners told the court that they approached BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd twice on July 21 and July 29 for a fresh power connection, but were denied. BSES Rajdhani denial came on the ground that the camp residents did not have proof of ownership of the land.

In December 2024, Delhi police and administration conducted a document verification drive in this camp, accusing migrant workers of being Bangladeshi and Rohingyas infiltrators. No infiltrator, however, was found.

On Thursday, the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs told Rajya Sabha that according to information by the Delhi Development Authority, neither had any eviction drive been carried out, nor have any complaints been received regarding the disconnection of electricity in Jai Hind Camp. However, the ministry added that the Delhi government’s department of power had informed it that two electricity connections had been disconnected on July 8.

Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her party, the Trinamool Congress, have been backing these migrant workers. Last month, a Trinamool delegation of MPs visited the camp and held a sit-in demonstration, demanding power supply be restored.