This is the cover story for Outlook's 16 May, 2022 magazine issue 'Demolition Row'. To read more stories from the issue, click here
On April 20, Block C in the national capital바카라s Jahangirpuri바카라which literally sits on a garbage dump yard바카라was in the media focus. Many inhabitants woke up to the noise of North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) bulldozers rolling into their locality, followed by media OB vans. While the demolition drive was underway, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat defiantly blocked a bulldozer as she waved a copy of a stay order by the Supreme Court. A few metres away, Ganesh Gupta, owner of a partly demolished two-floor structure from where he ran a juice shop, lamented in front of cameras: 바카라My shop wasn바카라t illegal.바카라 Aggrieved inhabitants rued that notices were not issued to them by municipal authorities before the 바카라anti-encroachment drive바카라 was carried out.
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Incidentally, the NDMC action came a day after it received a letter from Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta, which he later shared on Twitter. In it, he demanded that illegal encroachments by 바카라rioters and antisocial elements바카라 be identified and bulldozed. The letter specifically referred to a Hanuman Jayanti Shobha Yatra that was taken out in Jahangirpuri on April 16. The procession had resulted in a communal flare-up that left nine persons injured.
A majority of houses, shops and carts damaged in the Jahangirpuri demolition drive belonged to Muslims. Similar anti-encroachment drives were conducted in communal violence-affected Khargone (Madhya Pradesh) and Himmatnagar (Gujarat) recently. Questioning their legitimacy, legal experts argued that not only do such politically motivated demolition drives threaten the rule of law and principles of natural justice, but they also flout Supreme Court guidelines. According to them, both the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, and Delhi Development Act, 1957, debar authorities from demolition without serving prior notices. Other states too, they added, have similar laws.
Culture of impunity
On April 21, Ganesh Gupta moved the Supreme Court, claiming that the demolished shop was allotted by the Delhi Development Authority in 1977-78. 바카라Since then, we have been regularly paying all fees and taxes,바카라 Gupta바카라s son Rajan tells Outlook, adding that they tried to show all the documents to the authorities when their shop was being demolished바카라but to no avail.
Earlier this month, in MP바카라s Khargone, among several houses demolished by the state government to punish those allegedly responsible for violence on Ram Navami, was Hasina Fakhroo바카라s house바카라that was constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. While hearing Gupta바카라s petition, the apex court ordered status quo, issuing notices to the Union of India and states of MP, UP and Gujarat in response to another petition filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind against the authorities in different states that have demolished houses of people accused of the crimes.
Among houses in Khargone, MP, demolished by the government after the Ram Navami violence, was Hasina Fakhroo바카라s house바카라that was built under the PMAY.
In Jahangirpuri, besides the Guptas, there are scores of distraught rehri-walas who have lost their livelihoods. They too were not served prior notices by the authorities, they lament. Describing recent demolition drives as 바카라malafide바카라, advocate M.R. Shamshad, who had also filed a writ petition against NDMC바카라s drive in Jahangirpuri, tells Outlook, 바카라The demolition drives are being carried out against a particular political background. Encroachment is not restricted to a particular area in any part of the country. Targeting just one area where the majority of the population belongs to a particular community can바카라t be justifiable.바카라
Even though the Supreme Court had ordered a halt to the Jahangirpuri demolitions, the drive continued for over an hour in the presence of the NDMC mayor and Delhi Police. 바카라Authorities should start anti-encroachment drives from posh areas like Vasant Kunj. Selective approach is the problem,바카라 he says, asking, 바카라Why are these drives limited to only those areas where mosques are situated? Only members of a particular community are being shown as encroachers.바카라 In Jahangirpuri, the front gate of a mosque was demolished but a temple on a footpath nearby was left untouched.
Rehris, which are sources of livelihood, can바카라t be termed as encroachments, says Shamshad. 바카라If the authorities want to turn it (Jahangirpuri) into New York, then they must know that citizens over there are entitled to unemployment compensation. The government takes care of their daily needs,바카라 he remarks, describing the starkly different state of affairs in the country.
Referring to the legal processes to deal with criminal activities, he adds, 바카라If somebody has a criminal background that can바카라t justify bulldozer action.바카라 Notably, Wasim Sheikh, one of the alleged stone-pelters identified by Madhya Pradesh Police last month, had both his hands amputated in 2005 following an accident. During the demolition drive, his shop was also bulldozed by the administration. Similarly, all three Muslim men named in the Khargone violence were already in jail since March 5. The trio has been reportedly accused of setting a motorbike on fire and charged with rioting at the same police station where a case of attempted murder was registered against them.
바카라Unauthorised colonies바카라
According to Shamshad, over 70 per cent of Delhi바카라s population lives in unplanned and unregularised settlements. The 2008-09 Delhi economic survey had disclosed that only 23.7 per cent of the city바카라s total population lived in planned colonies. Ahead of 2020 Delhi assembly elections, the BJP had promised to legalise unauthorised colonies in the city as the Union government announced PM-UDAY, a scheme to confer property rights to inhabitants of unauthorised non-affluent colonies.
Advocate Dushyant Dave, who filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking its immediate intervention in Jahangirpuri, underlined the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act 2011, which was extended by the BJP government to December 2023. The law provides protection from punitive action for unauthorised constructions. 바카라Under this law every unauthorised structure is protected in Delhi바카라whether farmhouses, jhuggi-jhopris, urban villages or other areas,바카라 he tells Outlook. 바카라Delhi has 1,731 illegal colonies in which 40-50 lakh people live. These include Sainik Farms and some dairies. But they (authorities) are not demolishing these.바카라
According to legal experts, the apex court in 1985 had upheld that not serving notice to affected parties violates 바카라the principles of natural justice바카라, and any deviation from the due process of law was bound to result in an unjust decision. In fact, the Delhi high court had ruled in February 2010 that ahead of any eviction, government agencies should identify and rehabilitate eligible people. In 2017, this was eventually upheld by the Supreme Court. The Delhi high court in 2019 reiterated this in Ajay Maken and others Vs Union of India and others. The apex court바카라s judgment was inspired by the UN Special Rapporteur바카라s Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement, which state that evictions shouldn바카라t render homeless people even more vulnerable to the violation of other basic human rights.
Wholly unconstitutional?
According to Shamshad, under Article 21, evictions and demolition of houses and businesses violate a citizen바카라s right to live with dignity. In his petition, senior Supreme Court lawyer Dushyant Dave, too, stressed that the denial of an opportunity to be heard violates the rights of affected people under Article 14 of the Constitution, which ensures equality before the law.
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Maintaining that the growing trend of 바카라bulldozer justice바카라 is a direct threat to due process of law and principles of natural justice, Dave tells Outlook, 바카라The culture that has developed recently is really shocking. We are against eye-for-eye and tooth-for-tooth laws. Let us assume for the sake of argument that stone pelting had taken place. Still, it바카라s the judiciary that has to decide who had pelted the stones and who is guilty of rioting. Only then can punishment be imposed, that too, as provided under the Indian Penal Code, which doesn바카라t provide punishment for demolition of homes and shops.바카라
Dave compared the growing trend with fake encounters. 바카라In a fake encounter, you take away life. Here you take away both shelter and right to livelihood. It is wholly unconstitutional and a complete negation of the rule of law,바카라 he says. Reacting to the recent demolition drives in Delhi and some BJP-ruled states, he says, 바카라It바카라s a blot on Indian democracy. Nobody has the authority to bulldoze anybody바카라s home or shop without giving proper notice or passing orders after hearing the person concerned or without offering an opportunity for the person to appeal against the decision. There are several stages you have to comply with.바카라
바카라In Delhi, for example, Section 353 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act has provisions saying any demolition order should be passed after the accused person is heard. And after passing the order, the person concerned must be given 15 days바카라 time,바카라 he says, adding that 바카라The Supreme Court has also interpreted that natural justice should be upheld against draconian powers, and that before passing such orders, the accused must be given a hearing.바카라
In November 2000, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee unilaterally declared cessation of combat operations against militants in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan. Does the bulldozing of homes and properties of peaceful citizens during the holy month indicate departure of governance from compassion? At Jahangirpuri, many famous news anchors were seen riding JCBs and justifying the demolition drive. Even though the area is dominated by Bengali and Bihari Muslims, a section of influential media portrayed them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. While demonising the residents, many went to the extent of labelling Jahangirpuri Block C as a 바카라chor colony바카라, inhabited by thieves and robbers.
바카라Everywhere, bias is writ large against the minority community. They are citizens of this country, not aliens. You can바카라t just wish them away by saying they are Bangladeshis,바카라 says Dave. Maintaining that India is on its way to become a fascist country, he attacks the media바카라s role. 바카라When history is written in future, the role of this section of media would definitely be portrayed as the single biggest contributor to the fall of democracy in India. This media is promoting hatred and negation of the rule of law, whereas its role is to fiercely protect the dignity and fundamental rights of citizens.바카라
The Hanuman Jayanti Shobha Yatra in Jahangirpuri was carried out by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) without police permission. Dave wondered, 바카라Delhi Police has filed an FIR against the VHP and arrested one person. Videos circulating all around show many others brandishing swords, lathis and other objects in that procession. Yet, nobody is talking about arresting these people and demolishing their homes.바카라 Appealing to the PM to intervene and stop 바카라motivated demolition drives바카라, Dave says, 바카라A State shouldn바카라t ever be the perpetrator of violence against its own citizens. Our image is suffering the world over, and it will have serious repercussions.바카라
***
- 23.7% of the city바카라s total population live in planned colonies.
- 1,731 illegal colonies in Delhi, where 40-50 lakh people live
(This appeared in the print edition as "The Maws of Justice")
For a deeper understanding of the legal and social issues around bulldozer justice, read Outlook's reportage and commentary on the issue: Click Here.
