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Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind moves Supreme Court over Uttar Pradesh demolitions
“In complete disregard of the principles of natural justice as also the municipal laws pertaining to demolition of properties, several properties were demolished without giving an adequate opportunity of hearing to the affected persons/families,” said the Muslim body, which filed two separate applications over the past two days.
New Delhi: The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has approached the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Uttar Pradesh government to stop further demolition of properties of those accused in the violent protests in the state against the remarks made against Prophet Mohammed by two functionaries of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“In complete disregard of the principles of natural justice as also the municipal laws pertaining to demolition of properties, several properties were demolished without giving an adequate opportunity of hearing to the affected persons/families,” said the Muslim body, which filed two separate applications over the past two days.
Claiming that the demolitions being carried out at Kanpur, Prayagraj and other districts were in utter disregard to the protection available under the state’s municipal orders, the Jamiat application required an order directing the Uttar Pradesh not to take any “precipitative action” at a time when the adoption of such extra-legal measures is under challenge before the apex court in a batch of petitions filed against the recent demolition of properties at Delhi’s Jahangirpuri. The applications have been filed in one of the petitions filed by Jamiat challenging the Jahangirpuri demolitions.
“Adoption of such extra-legal measures is clearly in violation of the principles of natural justice, especially when this Court is hearing the present matter (relating to Jahangirpuri demolitions),” the application said.
In April this year, the top court ordered status quo on the demolition carried out by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) against properties in Jahangirpuri that the corporation claimed to be encroaching public land.
“It is pertinent to note that in the present matter this court ordered stay of demolitions that were being carried out as a punitive measure in northwest Delhi in similar circumstances,” the Jamiat said in its plea filed through advocate Kabir Dixit. “Hence, considering that the captioned matter is currently pending before this court, resorting to such measures is even more alarming.”
While one application demanded immediate stop on further demolition, the other plea by Jamiat filed on Monday sought initiation of action against officials responsible for the houses already demolished in Kanpur in violation of rule of law and the municipal laws.
As per Section 10 of the Uttar Pradesh (Regulation of Building Operations) Act, 1958, demolition of a building shall not be undertaken unless the affected person is given a reasonable opportunity of being heard, the Jamiat plea stated. Further, it quoted Section 27 of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973 which requires 15 days’ notice and the affected person to be heard before proceeding with the demolition.
“Even as per the laws enacted by the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh, the affected persons are entitled to a reasonable opportunity of hearing before any such demolition is carried out. Hence, the demolition of properties carried out by the state government in retaliation was in breach of the laws enacted by the state legislature itself,” the plea stated.
The violence took place last week as part of countrywide protests over statements made by now-suspended BJP spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal making derogatory references to Prophet Mohammed which evoked major diplomatic outrage. Following their remarks, Sharma was suspended while Jindal was expelled by the party, which distanced itself from their views.
Jamiat termed the remarks by the two BJP functionaries as “offensive” and “objectionable” and said that during the bandh called in protest over the remarks at Kanpur turned violent with scuffle reported between members of the Hindu and Muslim communities and incidents of stone pelting.
The application highlighted that soon after the violence, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath told the media that the houses of accused persons would be razed using bulldozers. This was followed by statements given by additional director general (law and order) Prashant Kumar and Kanpur commissioner of police Vijay Singh Meena. They reiterated that the properties of accused would be seized and demolished.
The demolition action was carried out on June 11 and 12 in several districts including Kanpur, Prayagraj and Saharanpur when properties of several persons who were allegedly involved in the violence in several districts were razed down as punishment for their purported acts.
Following an order of chief minister on June 12 to continue with the demolitions across the state, the Jamiat decided to approach the court.
“It is imperative that immediate action is taken by this court to address the issue of violation of the rule of law and the rights of the accused persons with respect to the demolition of properties being undertaken without following the due process of law,” the application said.
