The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that no demolition of property anywhere in India will take place without the permission of the court till October 1, the next date of hearing but clarified that this order will not be applicable to any unauthorised construction on public roads, footpaths, among others.
The apex court said it would formulate directives on when and how properties can be demolished under the municipal laws of the land.
The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Sudhanshu Dhulia, and SVN Bhatti had observed that such demolition threats are inconceivable in a country where the law is supreme.
On September 12, the apex court made a strong observation on ‘bulldozer justice’ while hearing a petition of a person from Gujarat. The Supreme Court said a bulldozer cannot be run on a person’s house just because he is an accused in a case.
“It is the court’s job to decide whether the accused is guilty or not. This country is ruled by law, a person’s mistake cannot be punished by taking action against his family or demolishing his house,” the apex court asserted.
The top court said that the court cannot ignore such bulldozer action. Allowing such action to happen would be like running a bulldozer on the rule of law, it added.
“In a country where actions of the State are governed by the rule of law, the transgression by a family member cannot invite action against other members of the family or their legally-constructed residence. Alleged involvement in crime is no ground for the demolition of a property,” the bench observed.
“We are on broad guidelines so that there is no bulldozer tomorrow and so that it is documented and checked so that neither side points to any lacunae…Why cannot some guidelines be passed so that it is followed? There can be notice, time to file a reply, time to pursue other legal remedies and then the demolition…we want to resolve this on a pan-India basis,” it added.
