The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to hear a contempt petition against alleged punitive demolition of properties in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Bar and Bench reported.
The bench of Justices BR Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Viswanathan dismissed the plea filed by the National Federation of Indian Women, stating it was not an aggrieved party.
“You are third party,” Gavai said. “What is your grievance? Let affected ones come, we will take. This will open flood of litigations.”
The contempt plea claimed the states had violated the Supreme Court’s order staying demolition of properties belonging to accused persons.
On September 17, the Supreme Court stayed all demolitions in the country until further notice without its permission. In a subsequent hearing, the court said: “We will clarify demolition can’t be carried out merely because someone is an accused or convict.”
The plea from the women’s group referred to three instances of demolitions in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar, Rajasthan’s Jaipur and Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur, naming the district magistrates as parties to the contempt petition.
The petitioners claimed that even if the state authorities were of the view that the structures were illegal, the properties were not covered by the categories carved out by the court as exceptions to stay.
In its September 17 order, the court had clarified that this stay does not apply to unauthorised constructions on public roads, footpaths, railway lines, water bodies or public places.
The court dismissed the plea, stating that those aggrieved can approach it directly. The bench rejected the argument that those affected by the demolitions lacked access to the court.
Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, representing the Uttar Pradesh government, stated that the plea was based on newspaper reports.
There are no provisions in Indian law that allow for the demolition of property as a punitive measure. Nevertheless, the practice has become commonplace mainly in states ruled by the BJP.
Authorities in four Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states and one Aam Aadmi Party-governed state punitively bulldozed 128 structures, mostly belonging to Muslims, between April 2022 and June 2022, human rights group Amnesty International said in a report in February.
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