Supreme Court Rebukes Gujarat Government Over Bulldozer Threat
The Supreme Court of India has strongly criticized the Gujarat government for threatening to demolish a property, stating that mere allegations of criminal involvement cannot justify the demolition of any property.
Ahmedabad: The Supreme Court of India has strongly criticized the Gujarat government for threatening to demolish a property, stating that mere allegations of criminal involvement cannot justify the demolition of any property. The court emphasized that such actions would be akin to running a bulldozer over the laws of the land.
A bench comprising Justices Rishikesh Roy, Sudhanshu Dhulia, and SVN Bhatti made these remarks while hearing a petition regarding the demolition of a house. The court underscored that in a country where the actions of the state are bound by the rule of law, the illegal actions of one family member cannot be used as a basis to take action against the entire family or demolish their legally constructed house.
The Supreme Court noted that the allegations of criminal involvement had not yet been proven through proper legal procedures. It stressed that it could not ignore threats of demolition, which have no place in a country where the law reigns supreme.
The bench directed the Gujarat government to respond within four weeks and ordered that the status quo be maintained regarding the property until then. The case involved a petition from a co-owner of a property where three generations of the family have resided for over 20 years. The petitioner’s lawyer pointed out that a criminal complaint was filed on September 1, after which municipal authorities threatened to bulldoze their family home.
It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court, on September 2, had also criticized the trend of demolishing properties belonging to accused persons, terming it “bulldozer justice.” A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Vishwanathan had said that such demolition actions cannot be allowed merely because someone is facing criminal charges.
In this case, senior advocate Iqbal Syed, along with advocates Mohammad Saleem, Saroj Kumar Sinha, V. Bhandari, Aman Syed, and Vivek Kumar, represented the petitioner Javed Ali Syed.
