India's top court raps state government over ‘inhuman' bulldozer demolitions
A two-judge bench of the court criticised the government of Uttar Pradesh, led by prime minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, as well as local authorities in Prayagraj city for demolishing five homes in 2021. 'These cases shock our conscience," justice AS Oka and justice Ujjal Bhuyan said.
The court ordered the government to pay Rs1m (£9,000) in compensation to each of the house owners.
"Residential premises of the appellants have been high-handedly demolished," the judges said. "There is something called right to shelter, due process of law."
State officials claim that demolitions only target illegal buildings, but human rights groups accuse the government, led by a saffron-clad Hindu religious leader named Adityanath, of weaponising what has come to be popularly known as "bulldozer justice" against the minority Muslim population.
The counsel for the five petitioners argued the government had wrongly demolished their houses claiming they were constructed on land that belonged to gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed, who was shot dead by the state police in 2023.
'This affixing business must be stopped. They have lost their houses because of this,' justice Oka said, referring to the government's practice of affixing notices on properties listed for demolition, Live Law reported.
The court had previously pulled up the Uttar Pradesh government for "shocking" and rampant demolitions in Prayagraj city without following due legal procedure.
After ruling against arbitrary government action against suspects or convicts of an offence, the top court had, in November 2024, laid down guidelines for demolishing private property, including issuing a prior notice and videographing the process.
"It is not a happy sight to see women, children and aged persons dragged to the streets overnight. Heavens would not fall on the authorities if they hold their hands for some period," the court said.
Amnesty International reported in February that authorities had unleashed bulldozers to raze the properties of dissenters and protesters in the capital New Delhi and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
The aim of the demolition drive was to destroy Muslim-owned shops, the rights group said after investigating 62 of the 128 demolitions documented in five states between April and May 2022.
At least 617 people were rendered homeless or deprived of their livelihoods as a result, the investigation found.
The international rights group said Muslim properties were 'discriminatorily targeted' without any due process.
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