Imposing a pan-India ban on instant ‘bulldozer justice’, the Apex Court’s bench led by Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan on Wednesday (November 13, 2024) issued a detailed guidelines to ensure that the due process is followed for the demolishing the properties of citizens. These guidelines were resultant of a case that had raised concerns regarding the demolitions of properties by the state authorities as a punishment for the alleged involvement of the property owner in a crime.
The SC held that the executive cannot demolish the houses or properties of persons only on the ground that they are accused or convicted in a crime. The court further stated that demolishing someone’s house with a bulldozer is not a punishment but a crime. It has also clarified that the government cannot act as a judge; only the judiciary has the authority to determine what is legal or illegal.
What was the case
The State Government’s action of demolishing houses publicly called ‘bulldozer justice’ has been observed in recent years in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It was also seen in Rajasthan earlier. The recent Ruiling was prompted by incidents in Udaipur, Rajasthan and Ratlam, MP earlier this year. In Ratlam, bulldozers were used to pull down a family’s ancestral home after the owner’s son was arrested for slaughtering a cow in June, 2024.
In Udaipur, the municipal corporation demolished a tenant’s house for allegedly “encroaching” on forest land. The demolition took place in August soon after the tenant’s 15-year-old son was arrested for stabbing his classmate for another community, leading to a flare up in communal tensions in the city. The lawyers submitted that the demolition and the accusations against the tenant’s son were connected. These pleas were tagged with another set of cases which pertained to demolition drives in other states. One of them was filed by the Jamait-Ulama-i-Hind in April 2022 amidst a demolition drive that followed communal violence in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri.
Guidelines Issued
Let’s take note the guidelines against Bulldozer Justice!
The Supreme Court held that demolishing the properties of citizens without following due process for the sole reason that they may be involved in some crime is contrary to the rule of law and directed that official indulging in such “high-handed actions” be made accountable. The court also issued certain directions that must be complied with before properties are demolished.
The SC was hearing a batch of petitions which raised the issue of demolition of properties by some state authorities as a punishment for the alleged involvement of the property owner in some crime. “We have concluded if the executive in an arbitrary manner demolished the house of a citizen only on ground that they are accused of crime, then it acts contrary to the principles of rule of law… our constitutional ethos and values would not permit any such abuse of power and such misadventures cannot be tolerated by the court of law” the bench said.
The bench further mentioned that “if the executive acts like a judge and inflicts penalty of demolition on the citizen on the ground that he is an accused, it violated the principle of separation of powers”.
The bench said, “Right to Shelter is one of the Fundamental Right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Depriving such innocent people of their right to life by removing shelter from their hands would be wholly unconstitutional”.
While considering the issue regarding the demolition of the house which are required to be demolished for bench of local laws, we find that the principles of the rule of law need to be considered even in the municipal laws. There may be certain unauthorized constructions which could be compoundable. There may be certain constructions wherein one part of the construction is required to be removed. In such cases, the extreme step of demolition of the property, house property would be disproportionate.”
The bench exercised its power under Article 142 of the Constitution and issued certain directions to be complied with before demolitions of properties are carried out. In the guidelines issued by the SC, it said “no demolition should be carried out without prior notice returnable either in accordance with the time provided by the local municipal laws or within 15 days’ time from the date of service of such notice, whichever is later. The notice shall be served upon the owner occupied by registered post acknowledgement due. Additionally, the notice shall also be affixed conspicuously on the outer portion of the structure in question.
However, these directions will not be applicable if there is any unauthorized structure in any public place such as road, street, footpath, abutting railway line or any river or water body, and to cases where there is an order for abolition made by the court of law.
