From auto drivers to juice shop owners, how bulldozers are fighting a legal battle against justice.

against the values ​​of the constitution

Rashid says that after seeing his savings getting ruined before his eyes, it has become difficult to trust anything. But this week a ray of hope arose when the Supreme Court directed the states to stop the demolition by October 1. Hearing petitions alleging illegal demolition of properties of the accused in several states, the court said that if there is even a single case of illegal demolition… then it is against the values ​​of our Constitution. The Supreme Court has proposed to make some guidelines on this issue, which can be implemented in the entire country.

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Rashid's house is an example of this. Udaipur authorities claim that the building had encroached on forest land and hence it was demolished. However, the reason for the bulldozing was a crime which Rasheed claims has nothing to do with him. It all started when an argument between two 16-year-olds at school turned violent. One child (from the minority community) stabbed another. The Hindu boy succumbed to his injuries and a sequence of violence ensued.

Demand for justice started rising due to bulldozer

Minority community properties were attacked, vehicles were set on fire, shops were vandalized and within hours 'bulldozer justice' (a term coined in Uttar Pradesh which was later used in BJP-ruled states as well) )'s demand also spread to some states like Rajasthan. Where Congress was in power. The accused was arrested in Udaipur and sent to the juvenile detention center. But the matter did not end here.

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When Kishore's father woke up the next morning, he saw a demolition notice pasted on the house he had rented from Rashid. Within hours, bulldozers arrived and the property was demolished. Rashid says he shouted while trying to convince himself that he was the owner of the property. They had nothing to do with the crime, but the wheels of injustice had already turned.

Rashid reached the Supreme Court

Rashid says that when I came to know about the notice, I showed the sale deed, tax receipts, water and electricity connection documents along with my file to show that I had followed the law. But no one paid attention. Unlike other victims of bulldozer justice, Rashid took the case to court. Punitive demolitions have become a visible symbol of brutal state power, says lawyer M Huzaifa of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), one of the lawyers representing Rashid in the Supreme Court.

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The Supreme Court's warning in this case that the executive cannot act as a judge is a long-awaited powerful statement. A Commission of Inquiry and Reparations is needed to restore justice and maintain the rule of law.

Arbitrary action in the name of immediate justice?

An Amnesty International report said 'punitive demolition' of 128 properties took place in the states of Assam, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh following communal violence and protests between April and June 2022. More than 600 people have been affected by this. Following the court order, the Assam government has paid Rs 30 lakh as compensation to six victims whose houses were demolished in Nagaon in May 2022.

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against the principle of nation building

Professor Khalid Anees Ansari, a sociologist at Azim Premji University, says that such barbarity violates the right to life of the individual and the community. Ansari says, we have found that many state interventions appear to provide immediate justice, but instead it is an arbitrary, coercive response taken without due process of law. The Supreme Court has spoken against it. It condemned punishing a family based on the mere suspicion that a member had broken the law. The family whose house is destroyed suffers from trauma and isolation and this goes against the principle of nation building.

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Shop demolished after riot

Ganesh Gupta, owner of Gupta Juice Corner in Delhi's Jahangirpuri, faced 'bulldozer justice' after communal riots during the Hanuman Jayanti procession in April 2022. Gupta's shop at the busy Kaushal Cinema Chowk, which has been a landmark since the 1970s, was demolished just hours later. riots, despite his continued pleading with the authorities that the allotment of his land was legal.

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borrowed from family, friends

Gupta, who has approached the Supreme Court for compensation, says that I went to the court because I knew that I had all the documents and could face the authorities legally. He said that in the last several years I have paid rent worth lakhs and have followed all the rules. I will keep fighting until I get justice. Days after his shop was demolished, Gupta approached the authorities to seek relief, but was unsuccessful. Unable to restart his shop for six months, he had to borrow money from his family and friends.

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Daughter's marriage had to be postponed

Ganesh says, 'I could not pay my children's school fees for two months. My daughter was to get married in November and I had to postpone the marriage. I took a loan of more than Rs 5 lakh to rebuild the shop because the fridge, juice machine… everything was ruined. Whatever was left was taken over by the municipality. He has a loan of Rs 3 lakh.

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Stone pelting during procession…then bakery broken

Just a week before Gupta's shop was attacked with a bulldozer, Amjad Khan, 41, had lost his bakery in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh. Amjad had seen his father selling rusk toast on a cart. He started a bakery in 2012 and gradually grew it to a turnover of Rs 3 lakh per month. He kept sending his biscuits to Gujarat and Maharashtra. On April 10, 2022, an incident of stone pelting and arson took place during the Ram Navami procession in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh. About 80 people were arrested in this. The next day the authorities demolished many houses. Amjad's bakery was also included in these.

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Why sabotage without due process?

Syed Ashar Warsi, a lawyer representing people affected by the demolitions in Khargone and Sidhi in Madhya Pradesh, says that in all the cases the victims were from the minority community, whose houses were built 20-30 years ago. Our main argument is why there is such haste in demolition without proper procedure? This is a violation of people's right to life and shelter. Amjad, whose petition is in the courts of Madhya Pradesh, is now waiting for the Supreme Court's decision. He says that we are living in fear, but there is no option but to move forward.