Imposing a pan India ban on instant ‘bulldozer justice’, Supreme Court said demolition of a citizen’s house merely because he is an accused or even 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 cannot breach a family’s right to shelter by demolishing their house only because one of its members 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 houses and properties belonging to families of accused in many states, especially in UP, ordered strict compliance and warned of serious consequences for officers indulging in wanton demolition of private properties.
Violation of any of the directions would lead to initiation of contempt proceedings in addition to prosecution of officers. If demolition is found to be in violation of orders of this court, the officers would be held responsible for restitution of the demolished property at his/their cost in addition to payment of damages,” the bench said.
Beginning the 95-page judgment by quoting famous Hindi poet Pradeep to illuminate the importance of shelter for a family, Justice Gavai said, “The chilling sight of a bulldozer demolishing a building, when authorities have failed to follow the basic principles of natural justice and have acted without adhering to the principle of due process, reminds one of a law less state of affairs, where ‘might was right’.”
Justice Gavai pointed out that mere registration of an FIR naming a person, even in a heinous crime, did not erase his right embodied in the concept of ‘innocent till proven guilty in a court of law’. “The executive cannot pre-judge the guilt of an accused and pronounce a disproportionate punishment, that too demolition of a house,” he said.
“In our Constitution, which rests on the foundation of ‘the rule of law’, such highhanded and arbitrary actions have no place. Such excesses at the hands of the executive will have to be dealt with by the heavy hand of the law. Our constitutional ethos and values would not permit any such abuse of power, and such misadventures cannot be tolerated by the court of law,” Justice Gavai said.
