Rule of law: India
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Demolition of buildings without due process
2024: SC Ruling on ‘bulldozer justice’
Dhananjay Mahapatra & Amit Anand Choudhary, Nov 14, 2024: The Times of India
New Delhi: Imposing a pan-India ban on instant ‘bulldozer justice’, Supreme Court Wednesday said demolition of a citizen’s house merely because he is an accused or a convict, that too without following the due process as prescribed by law, will be “totally unconstitutional”. It laid down a lengthy process for razing illegal structures and ruled that a state can’t breach a family’s right to shelter by demolishing their house because a member is accused of a heinous crime.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan, which had taken suo motu cognisance of demolition of ho- uses and properties belonging to families of accused in many states, especially in UP, ordered strict compliance and warned of serious consequences for guilty officers.
“Violation of any of the direction of this court would lead to initiation of contempt proceedings in addition to prosecution of officers. (They) would be held responsible for restitution of the demolished property at his/their cost in addition to payment of damages,” the bench said.
