On August 24, the bungalow of Haji Shahzad Ali, an accused in the stone-pelting case at police in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, was bulldozed.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its decision in the case of the action of a bulldozer. During the hearing, Justices BR Gavai and Vishwanathan said the ban on bulldozing actions across the country would continue until the decision was taken. The Supreme Court has not yet set a date for the decision.
The Supreme Court once again clarified that the ban on bulldozer action would not include illegal encroachment. Be it a road, railway, temple or dargah, the illegal encroachment will be permanently removed. For us, public safety is the priority.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta presented the case on behalf of the governments of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. He said: During the bulldozing action, allegations were made that a particular community was being targeted. On this, the Supreme Court said: “India is a secular country. Whatever guidelines we establish will apply to everyone.
Supreme Court Commentary on Contempt of Court
Details of the arguments and directions given regarding contempt of court were given on social media website Live Law. Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, on behalf of one of the petitioners, asked the bench: What will someone do if his house is demolished? Will he run after the bulldozer driver? On this, Justice Gavai said that if the order is not followed, the action will be rectified. The property will be renovated and the victim will be compensated.
After this comment from the court, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan suggested that the renovation and compensation amount be taken away from the vandals. After this, Justice Gavai, pointing to Justice Vishwanathan, said, “My brother has already said this.
Read the LIVE courtroom in bulldozer action case
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta– I appeared on behalf of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, but the bench said the guidelines will apply to the entire country, so I have some suggestions. Many things were taken into consideration. If a man is guilty of a crime, that is no reason to bulldoze.
Judge Gavai- If he is guilty, can this constitute a basis for bulldozing action?
Solicitor General- No. You said that a notice should be issued. Most municipal laws provide for the issuance of notices on a case-by-case basis. You can see that the notice was sent by registered mail. The notice must indicate which law was violated.
Judge Gavai- Yes, there can be different laws even within the same state.
Justice Vishwanathan- There should be an online portal for this. Scan it. The officer will also be safe. The status of sending the notice and serving it will also be available on the portal.
Solicitor General- One thing that troubles me is the claim that a community is being targeted.
Judge Gavai- We are a secular country, whatever guidelines we establish will apply to the entire country.
When SG said: Help from international agency is not necessary During the hearing, lead counsel CU Singh filed a request to intervene on behalf of the United Nations. On this, Justice Gavai said that we are not currently considering the problem of sufficient housing. Our problem at the moment is only illegal construction. I’ll think about it later.
On this, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that we do not need help from an international agency. Lawyer Singh said: “We are not looking at the big problem of houses, we are only looking at the small problem.
Solicitor General- There are certain laws in case of illegal encroachment…
Judge Gavai- We have already made it clear that illegal encroachments on public roads, water bodies, railway tracks, whether temples or dargahs, would be removed. Public safety is at the forefront.
Justice Vishwanathan- If there are 2 structures and you act against only one. You get a criminal record in one case. We will have to find a solution to this.
Solicitor General- Let’s leave aside those cases that have been exaggerated in the media. The court is currently reviewing the general guidelines.
» said Judge Gavai smiling – Bulldozer Justice During the hearing, Justice Gavai said that while writing the verdict, we will make it clear that if someone is merely accused or guilty, bulldozing action cannot be taken. When I was in Bombay, I myself gave orders to remove illegal encroachments on a footpath. We will ask the courts to keep this in mind when hearing cases of illegal encroachment. On this subject, the SG told him that there were only 2% of such cases.
Justice Vishwanathan asked that it should not be just a few cases or 2%. Cases involving sabotage actions are close to 4.5 lakh. This figure has remained constant for some time. On this subject, SG said – When I said 2%, I was only talking about 2% of the bulldozer action. We read articles about immediate justice in the newspapers. Thereupon, Justice Gavai smiled and uttered the word bulldozer justice.
Solicitor General- The court had issued a 48-hour notice in MC Mehta’s case.
Justice Vishwanathan- We request online arrangement only for records.
Solicitor General- Absolutely right. The summons must be sent only by registered mail. I’m just afraid of abuse. The invaders will benefit from a delay of one week.
Justice Vishwanathan- There are many cases in which the opinion is disputed. Demolition orders must be given in the right place. The court should not look into the issue of notice, it should only monitor the action of the bulldozer.
Judge Gavai- They can save 10-15 days after placing the order. Even if the case continues in court, the decision is made within a month.
Solicitor General- In such a situation, is it not necessary to change local laws?
Justice Vishwanathan- Even though it is illegal, it is not a good thing to see women and children on the road. The old people came on the road. They could make other arrangements.
Solicitor General- I oppose it. You are talking about convenience, which is not a condition provided for by law.
Judge Gavai- We are only talking about the legal facilities that already exist. We are not talking about illegal encroachment on public property.
What happened during the last 3 Supreme Court hearings on the bulldozer action?
September 17: Center says: Don’t tie your hands, court says: Heaven won’t burst The Supreme Court had declared on September 17 that the bulldozing action would not take place before October 1. Until the next hearing, no bulldozing action should be taken in the country. When the Center questioned this order that the hands of constitutional institutions cannot be tied in this manner. Then, Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Vishwanathan said, “If the proceedings are stopped for two weeks, the sky will not burst. …September 12: Supreme Court declares: bulldozing of laws The Supreme Court had also said on September 12 that the bulldozing action amounted to bulldozing the laws of the country. The matter was before Justice Hrishikesh Roy, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice SVN Bhatti. In fact, a family in Gujarat was threatened by a bulldozing action by the municipality. The petitioner is a co-owner of a land at Kathlal in Kheda district. …September 2: Court said: encroachment is not protection The Supreme Court had said during the September 2 hearing that even if someone is guilty, it cannot be done without following the legal process. However, the court also clarified that it would not grant any protection against encroachment on public roads. But concerned parties should make suggestions. We can issue guidelines for the entire country.
Three states where bulldozing took place in the last 3 months
August 2024: Action against accused for throwing stones at police in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh. Less than 24 hours after stone-pelting at Kotwali police station in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur on August 21, the government had razed a three-storey mansion worth Rs 20 crore built over 20,000 square feet . Even when his mansion was demolished, none of his family members were present here. According to the FIR, the four brothers had incited the crowd to attack the police.August 2024: Bulldozer rammed into house of accused after stabbing in Udaipur, Rajasthan In a government school in Udaipur, a class 10 child had injured another by stabbing him. This was followed by arson and violent protests across the city. On August 17, a bulldozing action took place at the accused student’s home. Earlier, on the instructions of the government, the Forest Department had issued a notice to the father of the accused, Salim Shaikh, to vacate the house built in an illegal colony.
On August 17, in Udaipur, Rajasthan, a bulldozing action took place at the home of Salim, the father of the knife accused.
June 2024: 6 properties of 2 accused vandalized in Moradabad and Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. In Moradabad, a bulldozer crushed the house of the person who tried to kidnap a married woman. The accused had shot the woman’s parents and brother who were protesting the kidnapping. At the same time, the hotel of hotel owner Zeeshan, who had beaten a young man to death during an argument over bread in Bareilly, was razed to the ground. Sunny’s birthday was June 26. Sunny had ordered 150 rotis from Zeeshan, the owner of Hotel Mashal. Zeeshan gave only 50 rotis and refused to give 100. When the argument escalated, Zeeshan and his associates beat Sunny to death.
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Bulldozing action 12 thousand times in 2 years in MP, Kamal Nath gave case, Shivraj gave speed, why is Mohan also on the same path?
The bulldozer action in MP started in the 90s. At that time, the bulldozer was a symbol of development. Former CM Babulal Gaur, while serving as Urban Administration Minister in the Patwa government, had used a bulldozer to remove encroachments. In 2017, Yogi Adityanath became the CM of UP. He linked bulldozers to law and order. This model of UP was adopted by the Kamal Nath government of Madhya Pradesh in 2018. When the Shivraj government returned to power, the speed of bulldozers increased.