“Lawful action was taken by the local development authorities as per the procedure established by law,” it said.
Lucknow: In response to a petition contesting the demolitions, which it said are targeting a particular population, the state government of Uttar Pradesh informed the Supreme Court today that they were legal and that action against rioters is being pursued in accordance with different laws.
The state administration has requested that the petitioner be fined in addition to the plea being dismissed.
The UP government testified before the top court that demolitions are a routine measure against illegal constructions, and notices for such actions were issued years ago. The UP government also claimed that the petitioner was wrong to falsely link the demolitions to the riots.
“Lawful action was taken by the local development authorities as per the procedure established by law,” it said.
Proceedings against Javed Mohammed’s house were done after giving them the adequate opportunity, with no relation to his role in the Prayagraj violence. Due process of law followed, it said
The UP government was served with a notice on June 16 by the Supreme Court for a response to a petition submitted by the Islamic group Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind. The court had then stated that demolitions had to be legal and could not be used as a form of retaliation.
The state maintained that no impacted party was in front of the court and that even if one did, it should first approach the High Court.
Referring to the Kanpur demolitions, the UP government said that two Kanpur builders have admitted the constructions are illegal and proceedings under the Urban Planning Act had started long before the riots.
“Petitioner Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind has attempted to give a mala fide colour to lawful action,” the state said in its response, adding that it is “cherry-picking one-sided media reporting of a few incidents” and extrapolating sweeping allegations from the same against the state.
“Demolitions have been carried out by the Local Development Authorities, which are statutory autonomous bodies, independent of the State administration, as per law as part of their routine effort against unauthorised/illegal constructions and encroachments, in accordance with the UP Urban Planning and Development Act, 1972,” it said.
The state government stated that it is taking strict action against the rioting suspects in accordance with a different set of laws, including the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the UP Gangster and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, the Prevention of Public Property Damages Act, and the Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damages to Public and Private Property Act, 2020 and Rules 2021.
The UP government argued that the petitioner’s argument was unworthy of utilising the “extraordinary jurisdiction” of the top court and cited a recent writ petition filed by a political party (CPM) regarding the alleged demolitions in Shaheen Bagh, where the party stated that only the affected party and not political parties should come forward. The petition might have been withdrawn with the option to appeal to the High Court.
The appeal was brought by the Muslim organisation Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind in response to the state government’s recent demolishments of structures deemed illegal in Kanpur and Prayagraj.
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