Home > Recent Judgements > Under The Rule Of Law, Bulldozer Justice Is Unacceptable
Nov 12, 2024
BACKGROUND
In the case of In Re Manoj Tibrewal Akash, As it has been alleged in this instance, a house building situated in the State of Uttar Pradesh was illegally demolished in the year 2019 which could be said to be without due process of law. There was only a Munadi given prior to the demolition without a written notice or any proper demarcation to the occupiers of the property. They claimed that the encroachment encroached 3.70 square meters of space only that the entirety of the property was brought down. The petitioner claims that the demolition was carried out as an act of retaliation in respect to a newspaper report which had implicated the accused regarding road construction. The Court, however, found the actions of the authorities to be unenlightened and illegal and ordered the State to pay the Petitioner a sum of Rs 25 lakhs and commence disciplinary measures against the officers culpable.
ISSUES
- Whether the demolition of the petitioner’s house was conducted in violation of due process?
- Whether the demolition constitutes a breach of the petitioner’s right to property under Article 300A of the Constitution?
- Whether demolition can be used as a punitive action against citizens?
- Whether alleged encroachment justifies the full demolition of the property?
JUDGEMENT
The decision in this matter condemned in the strongest language the so-called ‘bulldozer justice’ as being an evidential case of disorder. The Division Bench held that the demolition of the petitioner’s house, undertaken by the Government of Uttar Pradesh, in August 2019, had been done in complete disregard of law and therefore was in violation of Article 300A of the Indian Constitution. The treasury was directed to pay the petitioner an amount of Rs. 25 lakhs as interim damages for the illegal demolition carried out. The treasury has been asked to put in place a disciplinary procedure in respect of the officers responsible for the wrongful demolition. The court made it clear that there cannot be violence and demolition of houses on the grounds of upholding justice. It underscored that such acts without permission would pave the way for vengeful actions and disregard for the rights of the people. The order included measures to ensure that the rule of law is ravaged by any future encroachment or demolition done by the State authorities. The Court underlined that a resident does not abdicate his rights over the property, its structures or even the homestead, to be threatened with demolition, irrationally.
“Bulldozer justice is simply unacceptable under the rule of law. If it were to be permitted the constitutional recognition of the right to property under Article 300A would be reduced to a dead letter,”
OBSERVATION
The Court interpreted the petitioners’ sense of ownership over their house which was torn down by the State of Uttar Pradesh in the year 2019 as illegal and infringing on their due process, which is protected in Article 300A Water in this country sinks the head which slammed the practice of bulldozer justice and Similar patterns in violence are divorced from the rule of law. If this practice is accepted and maintained, it will weaken the principles of State and the rights of the citizens and selective vengeance will become dominant. As regards the importance of due process, the Court held that the State was liable to pay costs in the amount of Rs. 25 lakhs to the petitioner and ordered sanitary measures against the officers who were held responsible. We reiterated in our Order that the right to property is a sacrosanct right and cannot be removed or property is torn down without due process of law and notice.
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