<p>The Supreme Court has shown, by ordering the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) to pay Rs 10 lakh each to those affected by the demolitions it carried out in 2021, that it is serious about the implementation of its directives. On a number of times, the court has spoken out against the injustice of bulldozer action being used by state governments and municipal bodies against persons accused of offences. Even last week, the court issued strictures against it and specifically mentioned the Prayagraj demolitions. In its latest order, the court said: “These cases shock our conscience. Residential premises of the appellants have been highhandedly demolished… Carrying out demolitions in such a manner shows insensitivity on the part of the statutory development authority.” The court made a special mention of the video of an eight-year-old girl clutching her books and running away as a bulldozer razed her hut. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The court also questioned the UP government’s claim that notices had been served in time. Very often, demolitions are done with the claim that the structures—homes, shops and other premises—are illegally constructed. The court stipulated last year that proper notices should be served before the demolitions are undertaken. This was not done in the Prayagraj case, and in many other cases. In Prayagraj, the demolition was done within 24 hours of the occupants being wrongly notified that their homes were located on land linked to a gangster. Even after the court laid down guidelines on demolitions, governments have continued to undertake them. In some cases, even backdated notices have been issued. Uttar Pradesh has pioneered the practice of bulldozer action and some other states have followed it. Justifying it, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that sometimes people need to be told certain things in a ‘language’ they understand. </p>.Uphold law, halt the bulldozers.<p class="bodytext">The court described the Prayagraj demolitions as ‘’illegal and inhuman.’’ That is also the case with other demolitions, often directed at members of the minorities and marginalised and weaker sections, and carried out on flimsy or non-existent grounds. Basic principles of law and justice are violated in such actions. The norm that no one should be punished without due process of law is given the go-by when instant justice is meted out. Very often, it is the families or the associates of the accused who end up being punished. There can be no justification for that. The court’s penalty in the Prayagraj case will hopefully send out a message. The fine of Rs 10 lakh, the court said, is meant to ensure that the Prayagraj authorities “will always remember to follow due process”. There should be zero tolerance of such illegal and motivated demolitions. </p>
<p>The Supreme Court has shown, by ordering the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) to pay Rs 10 lakh each to those affected by the demolitions it carried out in 2021, that it is serious about the implementation of its directives. On a number of times, the court has spoken out against the injustice of bulldozer action being used by state governments and municipal bodies against persons accused of offences. Even last week, the court issued strictures against it and specifically mentioned the Prayagraj demolitions. In its latest order, the court said: “These cases shock our conscience. Residential premises of the appellants have been highhandedly demolished… Carrying out demolitions in such a manner shows insensitivity on the part of the statutory development authority.” The court made a special mention of the video of an eight-year-old girl clutching her books and running away as a bulldozer razed her hut. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The court also questioned the UP government’s claim that notices had been served in time. Very often, demolitions are done with the claim that the structures—homes, shops and other premises—are illegally constructed. The court stipulated last year that proper notices should be served before the demolitions are undertaken. This was not done in the Prayagraj case, and in many other cases. In Prayagraj, the demolition was done within 24 hours of the occupants being wrongly notified that their homes were located on land linked to a gangster. Even after the court laid down guidelines on demolitions, governments have continued to undertake them. In some cases, even backdated notices have been issued. Uttar Pradesh has pioneered the practice of bulldozer action and some other states have followed it. Justifying it, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that sometimes people need to be told certain things in a ‘language’ they understand. </p>.Uphold law, halt the bulldozers.<p class="bodytext">The court described the Prayagraj demolitions as ‘’illegal and inhuman.’’ That is also the case with other demolitions, often directed at members of the minorities and marginalised and weaker sections, and carried out on flimsy or non-existent grounds. Basic principles of law and justice are violated in such actions. The norm that no one should be punished without due process of law is given the go-by when instant justice is meted out. Very often, it is the families or the associates of the accused who end up being punished. There can be no justification for that. The court’s penalty in the Prayagraj case will hopefully send out a message. The fine of Rs 10 lakh, the court said, is meant to ensure that the Prayagraj authorities “will always remember to follow due process”. There should be zero tolerance of such illegal and motivated demolitions. </p>
