Jamiat hails SC’s ‘Bulldozer’ judgement, says it reinforces supremacy of law

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan described as "chilling" the sight of a bulldozer demolishing a building, rendering women, children and aged persons homeless overnight.

New Delhi: Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, who was a petitioner in the case against “illegal” bulldozing of properties for being accused in any matter, hailed the Supreme Court judgement for reinforcing the supremacy of the law and hoped that the cruel practice of extrajudicial punishment will now be permanently halted.

Equating ‘bulldozer justice’ with a lawless state of affairs where might is right, the Supreme Court laid down pan-India guidelines and said no property should be demolished without a prior show cause notice and the affected must be given 15 days to respond.

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The executive cannot assume judicial powers to punish the citizens by demolishing their properties without following due process, the apex court said while terming such excesses “high-handed and arbitrary” and ruling that they need to be dealt with the “heavy hand of the law”.

Welcoming the verdict, Maulana Arshad Madani, the president of one of the two factions of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, said it is a day of great joy and satisfaction as the legal struggle of the Muslim organisation has been successful and the poor and the oppressed, whether Hindu or Muslim, have received justice from the apex court.

“We have maintained that if someone commits a crime, their punishment should not be meted out to their family members. The Court has also echoed this in its ruling,” he said.

Arshad Madani said the bulldozer action is not only an inhumane practice, but it is also tantamount to an insult to both the judiciary and the law.

He further stated that the court has left no room for the states to misuse this judgement or take advantage of any loopholes to target a particular community under the guise of legal action.

He said that the sinister campaign began first in Assam and Khergaon, Madhya Pradesh.

In 2022, in Jahangirpuri, Delhi, multiple Muslim homes were suddenly reduced to rubble in the blink of an eye, Madani said.

“We congratulate the Supreme Court for delivering such an extraordinary judgment, which once again reinforces the supremacy of the law and ensures that justice prevails. We hope that with the strict directives issued by the Court, bulldozer actions will now be curtailed, and this cruel practice of extrajudicial punishment will be permanently halted,” he said.

Maulana Mahmood Madani, who heads the other faction of the Jamiat, also welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling against “bulldozer justice”, calling it a significant step towards safeguarding the rule of law and the fundamental rights of citizens.

Asad Madani further emphasized that compensation should be provided to all those whose properties were demolished without proper legal procedures.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan described as “chilling” the sight of a bulldozer demolishing a building, rendering women, children and aged persons homeless overnight.

“If the executive acts as a judge and inflicts penalty of demolition on a citizen on the ground that he is an accused, it violates the principle of ‘separation of powers’,” the bench said in its 95-page judgement.