India: Supreme Court bans 'bulldozer justice'

India's Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the government cannot order the demolition of property belonging to people accused of crimes without allowing for due judicial process.

In its judgement, the court said such demolitions "would strike at the basic principle of rule of law and is not permissible."

The court ruled that a notice must be issued with at least 15 days for the owner to respond and must provide an opportunity for personal hearing, among other guidelines.

The judgement emphasized that only the judiciary has the authority to determine guilt and any action without proper legal procedures, violates the principles of justice and the rule of law.

Incidentally, these demolitions are colloquially termed "bulldozer justice."

'Anti-encroachment' drives or 'punishment'?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been accused by rights groups and critics of levelling properties belonging to Muslims in so-called "anti-encroachment" drives.

While officials have said the demolitions only targeted illegal buildings, rights groups and critics say they are an attempt to harass and marginalize religious minorities, pointing to a wave of rising religious tensions under Modi's rule.

In February, London-based rights group Amnesty International said in a report that authorities in the Indian capital, Delhi, along with BJP-ruled states of Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have carried out demolitions as a "punishment" following communal clashes or protests against discriminatory government policies.

The Supreme Court in its judgement on Tuesday said selective demolitions without addressing similar illegal structures are considered arbitrary and potentially malicious, indicating punitive intent.

The court called it "an action of penalizing the accused without even trying him before the court of law."

'Bulldozer justice'

Last year, following communal violence in the northern Haryana state, authorities demolished more than 750 houses and other structures in four days, which came to a stop only after the state's high court ordered a pause.

Most of the shops and makeshift structures were owned by Muslims, which the BJP government claimed had been built illegally.

The ruling nationalist party has always maintained that it is not targeting any particular religious group but are only enforcing the law.

Earlier, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party, called such drives "a demolition of India's constitutional values."

Talking to the AFP news agency just before India's general election in June, Bhai Khatri, a 64-year-old Muslim voter from Modi's home state of Gujarat, said people did not speak up against the government's actions out of fear.

"Who will speak up? If they do, they may be picked up [by police] or a bulldozer will be sent to their homes."

Edited by: Wesley Rahn