Supreme Court draws ‘Laxman Rekha’ on bulldozer action, read the complete 15 point guideline

New Delhi:13 Nov 2024

The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave a big decision on bulldozer justice. The Supreme Court has declared the demolition of people’s houses with bulldozers as unconstitutional. The court said that if the executive demolishes a person’s house only on the basis that he is an accused, then it is a violation of the rule of law. The Supreme Court said that even against the accused and convicted of serious crimes, bulldozer action cannot be taken without following the rules. The court said that the rule of law, rights of citizens and the principle of natural justice are necessary conditions. If a property is demolished only because a person has been accused, then it is completely unconstitutional.

The whole family can’t be punished for one person’s mistake If there is only one accused then why should the entire family be punished?Get compensation for wrongful demolition of houseAbuse of power cannot be toleratedBulldozer action cannot be biasedOfficials will not be spared for the arbitrariness of the bulldozerIn case of house demolition, the concerned party should get timeIt is the court’s job to punish a crimeNo one should be held guilty without a verdictSend notice by registered post, get 15 days time

The Supreme Court bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Vishwanathan pronounced the verdict. In his verdict, Justice Gavai said that a person’s home is his hope. Everyone dreams that his shelter should never be taken away. Every person hopes that he has a shelter. The question before us is whether the executive can take away the shelter of a person who is accused of a crime. The court said that the house of an accused cannot be demolished just because he is accused of a crime. He said that only the judiciary will decide the truth of the allegations.

The court said that we are issuing the order only after hearing all the parties. The court said that we have considered the rights guaranteed under the Constitution. These provide protection to individuals from arbitrary action of the state. The court said that arbitrary use of power cannot be allowedAlong with this, the Supreme Court issued its guidelines regarding the action taken with the bulldozer.

If a demolition order is passed, time should be given to appeal against this order.Instructions not to affect illegal structures on roads, river banks etc.Demolition action will not be taken without a show cause notice. The notice will be sent to the owner by registered post and the notice will also be pasted outside the structure.After service of notice, the owner of the structure will be given 15 days to present his side. After service, information will be sent by the Collector and District Magistrate.The Collector and DM will appoint nodal officers in charge of demolition of municipal buildings etc.The notice will contain the nature of the violation, the date of personal hearing and before whom the hearing is fixed. The specified digital portal will be made available where details of the notice and the order passed therein will be made available. The authority will hear the personal hearing and the minutes will be recorded. Thereafter a final order will be passed. This should answer whether the unauthorised structure is negotiable and if only a portion is found to be non-negotiable and find out why the extreme step of demolition is the only answer. The order will be displayed on the digital portal.The owner will be given an opportunity to demolish or remove the unauthorised structure within 15 days of the order and only if the appellate body has not stayed the order, the demolition steps will take place.The demolition action will be videographed. The video should be preserved. The said demolition report should be sent to the Municipal Commissioner.All instructions should be followed.Non-compliance of these directions will lead to contempt and prosecution. The officials will be held liable to restore the demolished property along with compensation at their own cost. Instructions should be given to all Chief Secretaries.