India’s top court cracks down on use of bulldozers to demolish homes of crime suspects

Supreme Court says ‘chilling sight of a bulldozer demolishing’ homes reminder of lawless state of affairs

The Supreme Court of India has come down heavily on state governments for demolishing the properties of those suspected of crimes, issuing strict guidelines for such actions.

The top court took a tough stance on “bulldozer justice” in response to a batch of petitions against the demolition of homes and businesses of suspected criminals by authorities as a form of punishment.

In many such cases, the victims have claimed innocence and said they were targeted because of their religion.

State officials claim the demolitions only target illegal buildings, but rights groups and critics say they are meant to harass and marginalise religious minorities, especially Muslims, pointing to rising religious polarisation under Narendra Modi’s rule since 2014.

“Depriving innocent people of their right to life by removing shelter from their heads, in our considered view, would be wholly unconstitutional,” the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.

"The executive cannot become a judge and demolish properties. 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 lawless state of affairs, where ‘might was right’.”

The “high-handed and arbitrary actions” have no place in the rule of law, it added, and such excesses have to be dealt with the “heavy hand of the law”.

Putting out guidelines, the court said no demolition should happen without a reason being given as well as a minimum 15-day notice.

The notice should be sent to the owner or occupier by registered post and clearly displayed on the outer part of the targeted building. The demolition should be videographed.

Any violation of the guidelines will invite contempt of court charges, making the officials involved liable to pay damages from their salaries.

Supreme Court lawyer Vivek Tankha, who is also a member of the opposition Congress party, described it as a “historic judgment”.

“Supreme Court has thrashed the state for this ‘Bulldozer Raaj’ or ‘Bulldozer justice’,” he told the news agency ANI. “The way state governments were behaving with arrogance, it looked very uneducated and as if they would use it as a political tool.

“All this has stopped now, there can be no ‘Bulldozer Raaj’ now. If you want to demolish anybody’s house, you have to give them a notice and a minimum of 15 days time.

“So, now the Supreme Court has also opened the gates for the prosecution of all those people who committed such illegality in the past, be it in any state of India.”

Sambit Patra, a spokesman for the ruling BJP, said: “Today in India, there is the rule of law, there is the rule of the Constitution.

“The public should feel safe, and criminals should be afraid. This should happen by following all the rules, and we welcome the Supreme Court’s verdict on this.”

India has seen an increase in demolition drives in states ruled by Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party where such action is taken immediately after communal violence or a suspected crime takes place.

In one such case in June, authorities in Madhya Pradesh state bulldozed the homes of 11 people after police reportedly found beef in their refrigerators and cows in their backyards.

Cow slaughter is punished by seven years in jail in Madhya Pradesh, and the burden of proof is on the accused. Slaughter of the cow, which some Hindu people worship as a deity, and its progeny is banned in most of India as is the consumption of their meat.