Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – Describing Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling on “bulldozer justice” as a “landmark”, Secretary General of Amnesty International (AI) Agnès Callamard hoped it should put an end to the climate of impunity around the cruel and inhuman practice of punishing people by unlawfully demolishing their homes and properties.
“The judgment reaffirms what Amnesty International has previously documented – that such illegal demolitions often instigated at the highest levels of government against Muslims in particular, have repeatedly undermined the rule of law and due process. Such lawlessness should never have been celebrated as ‘bulldozer justice’ in the first place, he said in a statement.
Amnesty International, he said, hopes the judgment will mark a turning point to deter discriminatory campaigns of hate, harassment and violence against minorities in India.
Never again should such deeply unjust and unlawful actions be repeated in the country, he said.
“Amnesty International calls on the chief ministers of various state governments, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam, and Gujarat among others, who have partaken in the unconstitutional actions to uphold the Supreme Court guidelines and implement them at the earliest.
“Individuals who have been subjected to forced evictions, collective and arbitrary punishment, in violation of both the Indian constitution and international human rights law, must be provided immediate compensation. Finally, the authorities who were part of the illegal demolition drives must be held accountable.
“We hope this judgment will mark a turning point to deter campaigns of hate, harassment and violence against minorities in India. Never again should such deeply unjust and unlawful actions be repeated in the country,” the statement concluded
A bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan issued the judgment after hearing pleas seeking the framing of guidelines on the demolition of properties. The apex court noted that an executive cannot become a judge, declare an accused as guilty and demolish their houses. Calling such actions ‘high-handed and arbitrary,’ the court declared them unconstitutional and amounting to “collective punishment”
Previously, Amnesty International released two reports in February 2024 which documented the arbitrary and punitive demolitions in at least five states in India in a hate campaign against the minority community for protesting discriminatory laws and practices.
