Terming the judgment as “outstanding”, prominent journalist Rajdeep Sardesai asks what action would be taken against those officials and politicians who enforced the bulldozer actions
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – Prominent political parties, rights groups, concerned citizens and others have hailed the Supreme Court judgement on Wednesday disapproving the bulldozer actions targeting mostly Muslims. The apex court also said public officials found to be involved in the bulldozing of homes should be held accountable and penalised.
The court’s ruling came on petitions against the bulldozing of homes and private properties of accused persons in several states. It ruled that it was unconstitutional to demolish the homes of people without following the due process of law merely because they were allegedly involved in a crime.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan, while reading out the verdict, said: “We have concluded that if the executive in an arbitrary manner demolishes the house of a citizen only on the ground that they are accused of a crime, then it acts contrary to the principles of the rule of law. If the executive acts as a judge and inflicts penalty of demolition on the citizen on the ground that he is an accused, it violates the principle of separation of powers”.
Welcoming the judgment, AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi hoped that the ruling would prevent state governments from inflicting collective punishment on Muslims and other marginalised groups.
“The #Bulldozer judgement of the Supreme Court is a welcome relief. The most important part of it is not in its eloquence, but the enforceable guidelines. Hopefully, they will prevent state governments from collectively punishing Muslims & other marginalised groups,” said Owaisi.
He also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for celebrating the bulldozer raj.
“We should remember that no less than @narendramodi has celebrated bulldozer raj, which SC today called “a lawless state of affairs,” he said.
Hailing the judgment as “outstanding”, prominent journalist Rajdeep Sardesai asked what action would be taken against those officials and politicians who enforced the bulldozer actions.
“Three cheers to the Supreme Court! Outstanding judgement on the so-called ‘bulldozer raj ’.. My only question: what happens to all those whose houses were demolished? Can justice be retrospective? What of the officials and netas who used bulldozers arbitrarily? Or is it too little too late?” said Sardesai.
Similarly, academic and political scientist Suhas Palshikar said: “In view of SC guidelines on the use of bulldozers, can there be a people’s commission for cases of bulldozer injustice prior to this ruling? Officials who executed that fraud on the rule of law need to be named and shamed at least, if not punished in exemplary fashion”.
Columnist Swati Chaturvedi criticised the Supreme Court for taking a too long time to reiterate simple facts about the rule of law.
“It’s unacceptable in a democracy that the Supreme Court has taken years to reiterate a simple fact about the rule of law. Stop grasping at straws when the SC acts as it’s mandated to. Why was bulldozer justice allowed? And, what about the victims?” said Chaturvedi.
Quoting a paragraph from the judgment, Srinagar MP Ruhullah Mehdi asserted “This paragraph from the Supreme Court verdict on ‘bulldozer justice’ captures how people at the receiving end of these abuses have long felt. I hope that the court will hold accountable those who have committed these crimes, and have reduced homes to rubble”.
In a statement, the civil rights group Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), which directly facilitated intervention in the Supreme Court on behalf of the victims, said that the judgement is a significant step towards justice and fairness.
“This ruling sets a crucial precedent regarding the use of punitive demolitions, ensuring that such actions align with justice, fairness, and legal principles,” said the group.
“APCR emphasised that these guidelines are just the first step in a larger struggle to prevent punitive demolitions and protect the rights of victims. The Supreme Court’s decision does not yet provide full compensation details or a clear path for rebuilding demolished structures. APCR will continue its efforts to secure more tangible, actionable, and binding remedies for the victims,” it added.
Muslim activist Javed Mohammed, from Uttar Pradesh’s Allahabad, whose house was arbitrarily demolished by the UP government in 2022, welcomed the Supreme Court judgement calling it a “historic decision.”
Javed hopes that, in light of Wednesday’s verdict, there will no longer be any illegal demolitions.
“In my case, I was neither given any notice nor informed. They called us, detained us, detained my wife and daughter, and demolished my home. It’s a shame that the Uttar Pradesh government has not taken any action regarding the illegal demolition of my home,” he said.
