NEW DELHI: Bulldozers were back in play against alleged rioters, this time in Delhi, till the Supreme Court’s status quo order was officially communicated to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation's demolition team in Jahangirpuri around quarter past noon on Wednesday.
'Bulldozer justice' against alleged rioters was first delivered in Madhya Pradesh and replicated in Gujarat before it was initiated in New Delhi. While the demolition squad with heavy police protection had already begun action in Jahangirpuri, the matter was mentioned by senior advocate Dushyant Dave before a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana.
"...The drive is unconstitutional. Unauthorised demolition is taking place in Jahangirpuri where riots took place. No notice was served or reply sought," he told the apex court while mentioning a plea filed by Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned another Jamait plea on the larger issue of demolition of residential or commercial property as a punitive measure in various parts of the country without following due process. Despite the bench ordering status quo and posting the matter for urgent hearing by a day, the bulldozers went on razing the alleged encroachments.
Dave had to mention the matter again before the bench around noon saying the demolition was on despite its orders, before the court directed communicating the status quo through the secretary-general of the court to the concerned authorities.
It was CPM leader Brinda Karat who rushed to the spot and stood in front of a bulldozer with a hard copy of the Supreme Court order before the drive came to a grinding halt. The clock read close to 12.15 pm. By then the operation had gone on for about two-and-a-half hours. Among other several structures torn down was the gate of a mosque.
The action drew a wave of condemnation. “At least the Supreme Court and its order should not be bulldozed,” Brinda Karat told reporters. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called it "a demolition of India's constitutional values" while urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to switch off the "bulldozers of hate".
Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi tried visiting Jahangirpuri but was stopped by the police. As for the BJP-ruled North Delhi Municipal Corporation, it said the demolition around a 2 km stretch was part of a routine exercise.
'Why punish the entire community?'
Shop owners whose buildings were demolished, claimed the NDMC did not give them prior notice. "If you (authorities) want to punish, then punish the accused who have been arrested. Why are you punishing the whole community?" Mohd Rahman, whose shop was razed, said