LI Network
Published on: 10 July 2023 at 21:52 IST
The Supreme Court announced that it would hear pleas regarding the demolition of properties belonging to accused individuals across the country in September. Justices BR Gavai and JB Pardiwala listed the matter for a hearing in September while considering petitions filed by Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind and others against the demolition drive.
During the proceedings, the court inquired about the survival of the petitions. Responding to the court’s query, Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave criticized the trend of demolishing houses as a fashion, citing an incident in Madhya Pradesh where a person urinated on a tribal. Dave blamed the BJP and alleged that they were targeting minority communities.
However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta objected to the statement and informed the court that encroachment was found in areas by people from the majority community as well. Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind had moved the Supreme Court against the use of bulldozers to demolish houses of individuals suspected to be involved in criminal incidents, including violence. They urged the court to issue directions to the central and state governments to refrain from taking any lasting precipitative action against accused individuals in criminal proceedings and to prohibit the demolition of residential accommodations as a punitive measure.
The organization also filed a separate application seeking directions for the State of Uttar Pradesh to avoid precipitative action in Kanpur District against the properties of accused individuals in criminal proceedings as an extra-legal punitive measure. Furthermore, Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind requested directions to ensure that any demolition exercise strictly adheres to applicable laws, with proper notice and an opportunity for the affected persons to be heard.