India’s top court has said authorities cannot demolish homes just because someone is accused of a crime and has laid down strict rules for such action.
This decision comes in response to a number of requests for action against authorities using house demolitions as a way to punish those suspected or convicted of crimes.
“Senior [the government] cannot be a judge and demolish buildings. The sad sight of a bulldozer demolishing a building reminds us of the absence of law where it belongs,” the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.
It also directed the authorities to give sufficient time to the affected person to challenge the order or leave the area.
This decision comes after many instances, where state authorities, especially those ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), they used demolition as a tool to punish people accused of crimes. News reports often refer to this act as “bulldozer justice”.
The reason given is illegal construction but experts doubted that and said there are no legal reasons for doing this.
Although the victims included Hindu families, opposition leaders and several activists said the attack was mostly aimed at Muslims, especially after religious violence or protests.
The BJP denies the allegations and the chief ministers of these states have linked the demolitions to their tough stance on crime.
During the hearing on Wednesday, the Supreme Court used strong words to condemn the practice.
“Such reckless and reckless acts have no place in a constitutional democracy,” it said, adding that officials who “took the law into their own hands” must be held accountable.
The court then issued guidelines, forcing the authorities to give 15 days’ notice to the occupant before demolishing the allegedly illegal property.
The notice must explain the reasons for the layoff. If the suspects do not respond to the notice within 15 days, the authorities can continue the action but they will have to record the process, said the court.
It also warned that violating these terms would be tantamount to contempt of court.
The court strongly condemned the out-of-court demolitions during the trial.
Earlier this month, it ruled that demolishing buildings simply because someone is accused of a crime is “unacceptable under the law”.
It also realized that the voices of the residents could not be silenced by the threat of house demolitions.
Although the Supreme Court’s directives can be seen as a positive step in preventing such layoffs from becoming the norm, observers point out that the implementation of the directive could be the key to ensuring that the practice stops.
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