The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that no demolition of property should take place, across the country, without court permission until October 1, the next hearing date. However, the court clarified that this order will not apply to unauthorized constructions on public roads, footpaths and similar areas.
A bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Viswanathan issued the order while hearing a series of petitions challenging the practice of bulldozing properties.
The court stated that if unauthorized constructions–whether temples, mosques, or other religious structures–exist on public roads, footpaths, or railway lines, the stay on demolitions would not be applicable on it.
The court said that it would first lay down guidelines, similar to those laid down in the 1997 Vishaka case, before considering individual cases. To recall, in 1997, the Apex court had laid down guidelines for protecting women from sexual harassment at workplace which were termed as Vishaka guidelines. The guidelines were based on Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
These guidelines, 16 years later, were superseded by the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
The Supreme Court was moved by several petitioners against the bulldozing of houses belonging to individuals allegedly accused in various cases.
It may be mentioned that the order came in view of several petitions filed in Supreme Court against bulldozing of houses owned by individuals accused in different cases.
The petitioner had requested the court that no punitive actions against residential or commercial properties of accused individuals in criminal proceedings, be undertaken stressing that all demolition activities must strictly comply with law. The plea also demanded strict action against officials involved in illegal demolitions without following due process.
On behalf of petitioners, senior advocate CU Singh maintained that demolitions were being executed almost daily which was countered by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, citing an example from Madhya Pradesh, where many shops belonging to Hindus were demolished in accordance with legal procedures.
The Supreme Court is hearing multiple petitions related to the bulldozing of immovable properties. One of the petitions highlighted the growing culture of illegal demolitions in the country, where such actions are increasingly being used as a form of extra-legal punishment, particularly against minorities and marginalized communities.
