The Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily on the trend of illegal demolition of the houses of those accused and convicted of various crimes, adding that it would lay down guidelines to tackle this problem.
"How can demolition be (carried out) just because (a person) is an accused?" asked the bench headed by Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan.
The court said that it would frame guidelines on this issue which is applicable on a pan-India basis.
"We propose to lay down some guidelines on a pan-India basis so that concern raised is taken care of. We appreciate the stand taken by State of Uttar Pradesh. We find that it is appropriate that counsel for the parties can give suggestions so that court can frame guidelines which are applicable on a pan-India basis," the court said.
The top court was hearing petitions filed by one Rashid Khan from Rajasthan and Mohammad Hussain from Madhya Pradesh, who alleged that their properties were demolished illegally and as a form of "revenge" by the authorities.
The rented house of Khan, a 60-year-old auto-rickshaw driver was demolished by the Udaipur district administration after his son, a 15-year-old school boy was accused of stabbing his classmate which led to violence in the city with members of Hindu right-wing outfits vandalizing properties and setting vehicles on fire.
Another applicant, Mohammad Hussain also alleged that his house and shop were illegally demolished by the Madhya Pradesh administration.
The two applications were filed in a case earlier filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind against the demolition of Muslim homes in Haryana's Nuh, following violence that broke out in the area.
Senior Advocates Dushyant Dave (representing Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind) and CU Singh ( appearing for the petitioner) informed the court that demolition in several cases was conducted as a method of punishment.
"They demolished 50-60 year old homes. The home was demolished because the son or tenant of the owner is involved (accused in a crime).. one case is from Madhya Pradesh and one from Udaipur," Singh said.
The court observed that "demolition on any such ground of being an accused is not correct."
The court said that it would issue guidelines which have to be followed prior to such demolitions. Justice Viswanathan said that the guidelines could deal with the processes including the issue of notice, time for a reply, time for pursuing legal remedies etc. before the demolition is carried out.