By Our Legal Correspondent
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on October One promised to protect even convicted criminals from State-sponsored punitive demolition of their legal private property but refused any kind of immunity to public space encroachers , whether they be Hindus or Muslims.
A Bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan said a conviction or being accused of a crime was no ground for States to bulldoze private homes and shops.
The court, which has proposed to frame pan-India guidelines to protect private property from illegal and targeted demolitions also said it would no shield public encroachments, irrespective of the faith of the violators.“ We are a secular country … Whatever we lay down, we may lay down for all citizens. There cannot be a particular law for a particular religion. Unauthorised constructions belonging to members of any community have to go, no matter their religion or faith,”Justice Gavai observed orally in court.
The Bench was hearing petitions accusing States like Uttar Pradesh of misusing municipal laws to bulldoze the private property of members of minority communities. The petitions argued that municipal laws were misused for crime-fighting and grandstanding by ruling parties in these States.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal has told the Supreme that the State driven, punitive and arbitrary demolition of homes and commercial establishments is an “aggravated form of human rights violation”.
The Rapporteur, in an application on Sept 27 pointed to the danger of using punitive demolition by the State as a tool for land-grabbing. “All arbitrary demolitions are void ab initio in law, and no legal title or right may be changed on the site where a demolished structure stood. This is an important guarantee to ensure that in the guise demolitions for technical breaches of the law, lanf grab from vulnerable individuals and communities is not condoned,” he pointed out.
Mr Rajgopal, represented by Advocates Vrinda Grover, Aakarsh Karma, Soutik Banerjee and Devika Tulsiani, sought the top court,s permission to intervene in the ‘bulldozer demolition case .
The court had ordered a stay on illegal demolitions using bulldozers on Sept 17 in a hearing that witnessed scathing remarks from Justice Viswanathan, who criticized States such as Uttar Pradesh for “glorification, grandstanding and even justifications”, for razing the private homes and properties of under trials and their family immediate family members” Mr Rajagopal said punitive demolitions amounted to “cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment”. Demolition of private property as a means of crime control and maintenance of public order was simply illegal, he submitted before honorable Supreme Court.
