Editorial: Bulldozer justice must stop

The real challenge is whether the Supreme Court guidelines on bulldozers are followed in letter and spirit

Bulldozer justice has become a buzzword in many States where homes and properties are being targeted selectively for demolitions citing the alleged criminal cases or encroachments as the reasons. Such capricious actions are legally untenable and morally disturbing. The trend started with the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh where bulldozers have become a symbol of a ruthless administration and has spread to other States as well including Telangana where the Congress government has been on a demolition drive, threatening to render hundreds of families homeless, in the name of clearing encroachments on the Musi riverbed. It is time to call their bluff. The Supreme Court has done just that. Reprimanding the governments for adopting an arbitrary and high-handed approach, the court has clearly said that the state has no power to punish a person without following due process. It has laid down pan-India guidelines for using the demolition machine. Henceforth, no illegal structure can be razed without issuing a show cause notice to the individuals concerned and giving them 15 days to respond. In short, the due process has to be followed, even if the case involves an accused. The apex court has rightly pointed out that going by the series of bulldozer actions in several States one has to presume that the motive for such a demolition is not to raze an illegal structure but to punish an accused person without a trial in a court of law. This is a dangerous trend that demonstrates that governments are freely indulging in unlawful actions.

The SC’s fierce defence of the basic principles of natural justice is welcome. The ruling is based on the primacy of the rule of law, separation of powers, the presumption of innocence of the accused, and the illegality of collective punishment. These are also the elements of natural justice. While the court’s guidelines are expected to ensure that overzealous officials are taken to task for exceeding their brief, the real challenge is whether the Executive follows the guidelines in letter and spirit. The past judgements and guidelines in the matters of hate speech and cow vigilantism have not been implemented by governments and law enforcement agencies. In recent years, demolition drives have been conducted in the wake of communal violence in States such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi. This has left no room for doubt that the authorities roused themselves from slumber just to teach a lesson to persons suspected of involvement in disturbances. The key is to raze illegal structures in a time-bound and legal manner, irrespective of which community members are on the wrong side of the law. The court has, in recent years, also spoken against hate speech and murders by vigilante groups in the name of cow protection.

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