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‘Nyay ka bulldozer chal gaya hai ’: Akhilesh Yadav hails Supreme Court's order on demolition of properties of accused
Supreme Court came down heavily against bulldozer justice, saying properties can't be demolished just because they belong to a person who is accused of a crime.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said that using bulldozers was unconstitutional and added that the “bulldozer of justice” has finally been set in motion.
His remarks came after Supreme Court came down heavily against bulldozer justice, saying properties cannot be demolished just because they belong to a person who is accused of a crime. The court said that it proposes to lay down guidelines on the issue.
“Bulldozer chalana unconstitutional tha aur pehle se hum log is baat ko uthate rahe. Main dhanyawad deta hoon, badhai deta hoon ke nyay ka bulldozer chal gaya hai. (Using bulldozers was unconstitutional, and we had been raising this issue for a long time. I thank and congratulate everyone that the bulldozer of justice has finally been set in motion.” said Akhilesh Yadav while speaking to media.
Reacting to apex court's decision, the Lok Sabha MP from Kannauj also wrote on X, saying, “Annyay ke bullzoder se bada hota hai nyay ka bulldozer. (Justice's bulldozer is greater than the bulldozer of injustice.)”
What did Supreme Court rule on bulldozer justice?
Hearing a batch of pleas against bulldozer/demolition action, often undertaken by authorities against the houses of those accused of serious crimes, the court said property cannot be demolished even if the person is convicted.
The Supreme Court, however, clarified it will not protect any illegal structure obstructing public roads. It asked authorities how anybody's house could be demolished just because he is an accused.
“Even if he is a convict, still it can't be done without following the procedure as prescribed by law,” a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan said on pleas against demolition action.
“We propose to lay down certain guidelines on a pan-India basis so that the concerns about the issues raised are taken care of,” the bench added.
Over the past few years, several state governments have demolished houses and properties belonging to those involved in serious crimes.
Justice KV Viswanathan observed that a “father may have a recalcitrant son, but if the house is demolished on this ground...this is not the way to go about it.”
