During the hearing in the Supreme Court on Thursday on the recent bulldozer action of CM Yogi in several districts including Kanpur, Prayagraj, Saharanpur in the BJP government, instructions were given to work according to the law. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, justified the action and said that it is not to target anyone, but to act against those who got construction work done in a wrong way. He said that before demolition of any building, notice is given to the concerned party as per rules.
On the other hand, senior advocate CU Singh, appearing for the petitioner Jamiat-Ulama-e-Hind and others, sought immediate stay of the bulldozer action. Said that this action of the government is only against certain sections and parties. He alleged that his side is neither heard nor given an opportunity to present his side before action. This is a unilateral action.
The petitioners expressed apprehension that more such demolition actions may be taken at the end of the week. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the UP government, said, “The petitioners rely on newspaper reports. We rely on official records.” Arguing for the UP administration, senior advocate Harish Salve said, “Law is followed for destructions. Demolition in the media is unnecessarily associated with political statements.
After hearing the arguments of both the sides, the vacation bench of Justin S Bopanna and Justice Vikram Nath told the state government that any action should be taken within the ambit of the law. Supreme Court asks UP government to file reply in 3 days on petitions by Jamiat-Ulama-e-Hind and others, seeking directions to UP authorities to follow due process on properties in the state without taking any action. The next hearing in this matter will be next week.
Advocate CU Singh of the petitioner said that the reason for the demolition is being given by the government that action is being taken against the protesters involved in the violence in the state. Said that demolition keeps happening again and again, it is shocking and horrifying. It was not during the Emergency, not during the pre-independence era. These are the houses standing for more than 20 years and sometimes they do not belong to the accused but also their aged parents or other relatives.
The UP Police has arrested over 350 people from nine districts for their alleged role in protests against remarks made by BJP spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal recently. In this case, the houses of the accused were demolished by bulldozers in many districts of the state including Kanpur, Prayagraj. The BJP later suspended Sharma and expelled Jindal.
Jamiat-Ulama-e-Hind in the petition has urged the top court to direct the UP government to ensure that “as an additional legal punitive measure against the residential or commercial property of any accused in any criminal proceeding”. No preliminary action should be taken in
The plea has sought a direction to the government that “any demolition action should be taken in accordance with the laws only after giving proper notice and opportunity of being heard to the affected person”.