Buildings should not be demolished by violating rules, Supreme Court takes action in bulldozer case

Latest News :- The Supreme Court has ordered in the 'Bulldozer' case that buildings should not be demolished without giving 15 days notice to the property owner and following the rules. This important decision has been given in the case related to demolition of illegal buildings in some states including BJP ruled Uttar Pradesh. In the 'Bulldozer' case, Supreme Court judge B.R. Kawai and K.V. Vishwanathan delivered the verdict today. The judges said in their decision that the buildings will not be demolished without giving 15 days prior notice to the property owner and following the rules of law. A notice will be sent to the owner by registered post.

“It will explain the nature of the building.” Unauthorized construction, details of violations and reasons for demolition. A video will be taken during the demolition of the building.” Violation of the guidelines will amount to contempt of court. The rule of law and the rights of citizens are against arbitrary action of the administration. The law does not allow such actions. Violation of law promotes anarchy. To protect constitutional democracy, it is necessary to protect civil liberties. If an administrator acts like a judge and orders the demolition of a house without following due process of law, it is a violation of law.

The state cannot take arbitrary action against the accused or accused. “Even if there is some encroachment, the authorities should show evidence that demolition is the only solution. He also directed that all notifications related to the guidelines to be followed by the government in case of illegal buildings should be placed on the designated portal of the civic body. It has also been said that district collectors should be held accountable for complaints related to this. The court also heard several other petitions filed in this regard. A petition said, extrajudicial punishment is being given due to the growing culture of illegal demolition in the country. Minorities and marginalized communities suffer more because such punishment is used as a tool against them.

Key Points: During the hearing of this case, Justices PR Kawai, K.V. Vishwanathan's bench said, “Merely because a person is accused or guilty cannot be a ground for demolishing property. Even if a building is demolished illegally, it is against the 'norms' of the Constitution. India is a secular country. The solution we propose in this matter is for all citizens and all companies. Although there may be no law specific to a particular religion, this order does not apply to cases of demolition of unauthorized structures in public places like roads, footpaths, railways, water bodies etc. It is also worth noting that we will ensure that our order does not help those who encroach on any public place.

What is the background of the case? In BJP ruled states, the local administration is taking action to demolish the houses of people involved in crime if they live in illegally constructed houses. Most of such incidents are happening in Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, a criminal case was registered against a person in Katlal of Kheda district of Gujarat. Corporation officials threatened to use bulldozers on his house. The petitioner and another land owner appealed against this decision in the Supreme Court.

During the hearing on these petitions, the bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Suthansu Dhulia and SVN Patti criticized the 'bulldozer justice' system. He strongly criticized the government's move to bulldoze the houses of the culprits. In a country where law is supreme, threatening to demolish houses is unacceptable. A house occupied by family members cannot be demolished just because a family member has violated the rules. It is noteworthy that the judges of the Supreme Court had boldly said that if a house is involved in any crime then there is no ground for demolishing it.