Opposition parties on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court’s verdict declaring “bulldozer justice” as unconstitutional, describing the ruling as a “tight slap” to the Bharatiya Janata Party government.
Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai said on social media: “Hopefully this decision will end the jungle raj in Uttar Pradesh”, PTI reported.
The Samajwadi Party said that “bulldozer action” was “unjust, unfair, unconstitutional and illegal BJP governments should stop doing injustice in the name of law and justice”. In a social media post, the party said that punitive demolitions had rendered whole families homeless and made scapegoats of innocent citizens.
“This decision is a tight slap on the face of incompetent, useless, highly corrupt people who run the government/power by considering themselves as god’s incarnation,” the party said. “Hopefully, those responsible must have felt and heard the sound of the slap.”
Earlier in the day, the court said that state authorities cannot demolish the properties of citizens merely because they are accused or convicted of crimes. A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan also issued guidelines to curb instances of “bulldozer justice”.
There are no provisions in Indian law that allow for demolishing property as a punitive measure. Nevertheless, the practice has become commonplace, mainly in states ruled by the BJP – particularly Uttar Pradesh.
The court was hearing a batch of pleas seeking its intervention against punitive demolitions by state governments. It had reserved its verdict in the matter on October 1.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said that the “terror of bulldozers will definitely end” in light of the court’s ruling.
“After today’s decision of the honourable Supreme Court regarding bulldozer demolitions and the related strict guidelines, it should be expected that UP [Uttar Pradesh] and other state governments will manage public interest and welfare properly and smoothly,” she said on social media.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat said she wished the verdict had come earlier, PTI reported.
“I welcome the Supreme Court judgment holding bulldozer actions as being illegal and malafide,” she said. “I only wish the judgment had come earlier as it would have saved the bulldozing of many many houses across BJP-led states.”
The judgement had brought “justice to those who suffered and to those who would have suffered in the future because of the BJP’s targeting of the poor and particularly of minority communities,” Karat added.
In its verdict, the court said that “if a property is demolished only because person is accused, it is wholly unconstitutional.”
Demolishing the homes of citizens also violates their right to shelter under Article 21 of the Constitution, the court held, describing “bulldozer justice” as a form of collective punishment against the person’s family members.
The bench added that demolishing the properties of any person accused or convicted of a crime would amount to the state authorities taking the law into their own hands.
“Public officials who take law in their hands and act in such a high-handed manner must be fastened with accountability,” the court held.
The court then proceeded to issue guidelines that government officials need to follow in such cases.