The Crossbill News Desk
The Allahabad high court has strongly criticised the Uttar Pradesh government's use of bulldozers to demolish properties linked to accused persons, with Justice Atul Sreedharan observing that such action amounted to dispensing “vigilante style summary justice” without following due process.
Justice Sreedharan made the remarks in a 51-page opinion delivered on Monday (July 20) as part of a split verdict by a division bench that also comprised Justice Siddharth Nandan.
The observations came while the court was hearing a writ petition concerning the demolition of properties belonging to a family in Hamirpur, whose relative had been booked under the BNS, IT Act, POCSO Act and the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, Live Law reported.
“The state is certain that the society suffers from collective schadenfreude and shall applaud the state for dispensing vigilante style summary justice, without adhering to the procedure established by law and secures pleasure from the misfortune of the other person suffering loss”, said Justice Sreedharan.
The judge described the immediate demolition of an accused person's home as a “retributive exercise of executive discretion” and termed it the ‘vilest’ species of “colourable exercise of executive discretion”.
Justice Sreedharan opened his opinion with a couplet by Urdu poet Bashir Badr – “लोग टूट जाते एक घर बनाने में तुम तरस नहीं खाते बस्तियां जलाने में (People face ruination in just making a home, and you feel no remorse setting ablaze entire settlements)” – to underline the significance of a home and the human need for shelter.
He observed that despite repeated Supreme Court judgments on the issue, demolitions continued with impunity “as though these judgments do not exist”, or because the state believed that defying the law laid down by the country's highest court “shall not visit them with any adverse consequences”.
According to Justice Sreedharan, a house represents far more than a piece of property, embodying a family's hopes, dignity and sense of security. Its sudden loss, he said, can push affected families into the “deepest abyss of despair”.
He added that courts have a responsibility to prevent such outcomes and can direct authorities to pay compensation to those affected.
In another striking observation, Justice Sreedharan referred to the controversy surrounding the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya while commenting on what he described as the normalisation of corruption.
“The recent controversy relating to the theft of donations at the Ram Temple is the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back. Nothing can shame a people who remain unfazed by the theft at the Ram Temple which epitomises the nadir of the Indian’s integrity,” said Justice Sreedharan.
The remarks come amid continued legal and political scrutiny of bulldozer demolitions in Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country, with the judge's opinion underscoring the need for executive authorities to follow established legal procedures before taking punitive action against individuals accused of crimes.
Justice Sreedharan made the remarks in a 51-page opinion delivered on Monday (July 20) as part of a split verdict by a division bench that also comprised Justice Siddharth Nandan.
The observations came while the court was hearing a writ petition concerning the demolition of properties belonging to a family in Hamirpur, whose relative had been booked under the BNS, IT Act, POCSO Act and the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, Live Law reported.
“The state is certain that the society suffers from collective schadenfreude and shall applaud the state for dispensing vigilante style summary justice, without adhering to the procedure established by law and secures pleasure from the misfortune of the other person suffering loss”, said Justice Sreedharan.
The judge described the immediate demolition of an accused person's home as a “retributive exercise of executive discretion” and termed it the ‘vilest’ species of “colourable exercise of executive discretion”.
Justice Sreedharan opened his opinion with a couplet by Urdu poet Bashir Badr – “लोग टूट जाते एक घर बनाने में तुम तरस नहीं खाते बस्तियां जलाने में (People face ruination in just making a home, and you feel no remorse setting ablaze entire settlements)” – to underline the significance of a home and the human need for shelter.
He observed that despite repeated Supreme Court judgments on the issue, demolitions continued with impunity “as though these judgments do not exist”, or because the state believed that defying the law laid down by the country's highest court “shall not visit them with any adverse consequences”.
According to Justice Sreedharan, a house represents far more than a piece of property, embodying a family's hopes, dignity and sense of security. Its sudden loss, he said, can push affected families into the “deepest abyss of despair”.
He added that courts have a responsibility to prevent such outcomes and can direct authorities to pay compensation to those affected.
In another striking observation, Justice Sreedharan referred to the controversy surrounding the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya while commenting on what he described as the normalisation of corruption.
“The recent controversy relating to the theft of donations at the Ram Temple is the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back. Nothing can shame a people who remain unfazed by the theft at the Ram Temple which epitomises the nadir of the Indian’s integrity,” said Justice Sreedharan.
The remarks come amid continued legal and political scrutiny of bulldozer demolitions in Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country, with the judge's opinion underscoring the need for executive authorities to follow established legal procedures before taking punitive action against individuals accused of crimes.
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