‘Bulldozer Action’; SC Refuses To Ban Demolition Exercises Throughout States

The court was hearing a petition by the Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind against demolition exercises carried out in Uttar Pradesh.

Mumbai: The Supreme Court has refused to order banning demolitions throughout states, highlighting the fact that such a transfer will curtail the rights of municipal authorities. The court is hearing a petition by the Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind against demolition exercises that, it has alleged, particularly focused on members of the minority group.

The Supreme Court had issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government in this connection. In its reply to the court, the state government has maintained that the demolition drives were routine exercises to remove the encroachment. The court document has now sought the replies of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat governments the place current demolitions have drawn criticism.

Advocates Dushyant Dave and CU Singh, showing for Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind, mentioned authorities are “selecting and selecting” and demolishing properties of individuals from the “different groups”.The petitioner mentioned that “taking advantage” of municipal companies to demolish properties shouldn’t be proper. The petitioner’s counsel additionally mentioned there’s a “sample of demolitions” throughout the nation “after each communal incident”. “That is towards the construction of democracy, not good for us as a society,” they mentioned.

Responding to the arguments, Solicitor Normal Tushar Mehta and Senior Advocate Harish Salve mentioned there isn’t a “different group” as identified by the petitioner and “all communities are Indian communities”.

They pressured that there isn’t a connection between the demolitions and rioting, and that the anti-encroachment workouts began lengthy earlier than the riots. They mentioned “pointless sensational hype” should not be created. Urging the court docket to not impose a blanket ban on demolitions, they mentioned the “rule of legislation must be adopted”. “Not each riot accused could be protected against demolitions underneath a blanket order,” the UP authorities counsel mentioned.

The Uttar Pradesh authorities are under criticism after it demolished the house of Javed Mohammed, the primary accused within the violence in Prayagraj over suspended BJP chief Nupur Sharma’s remarks on Prophet Muhammad(S.A.W).