The Supreme Court gave three days’ time to the Uttar Pradesh government to demonstrate how the demolitions that were done recently were in compliance with the procedural and municipal laws
A bulldozer demolishes the illegally constructed residence of Javed Ahmed, who is allegedly the key conspirator of a violent protest in Prayagraj. ANI
The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to not to carry out demolition activities without notice and except in accordance with the legal procedure.
Hearing pleas submitted by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and others seeking directions to Uttar Pradesh to ensure that no further demolitions are carried out in the state without following due process, the apex court said: “Everything should be fair, we expect authorities to strictly follow procedure under law.”
The plea stated that the demolitions in UP were carried out after protests were held against now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s “derogatory” remarks against Prophet Muhammad.
The Supreme Court observed that it can’t stay demolition but emphasised that the procedures established by law must be followed for the demolition of alleged unauthorised structures. Three days’ time has been given to the Uttar Pradesh government to demonstrate how the demolition that were done recently were in compliance with the procedural and municipal laws.
The hearing into the matter is now scheduled for Tuesday.
During the hearing today, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh government told the Supreme Court that no community was targeted in demolitions in the state.
“(There was) no case of targeting any community, notices were given and due process was followed in all cases of demolitions in Prayagraj and Kanpur,” the UP government said.
Senior Advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the UP government, said: “There are three instances. In Prayagraj, notice was issued in May, much before the riots. On 25 May, demolition order was passed. And the property is valuable, so people are not those who could not approach.”
Protests have been reported in several cities in Uttar Pradesh to condemn razing of homes and businesses of people who allegedly took part in violent protests on 10 June following the remarks made by Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal about Prophet Muhammad.
On Sunday (12 June), authorities had razed the home of Javed Ahmad, who the police said is the main accused in protests that turned violent last Friday. A day earlier, a multi-storey building allegedly owned by a close aide of Nizam Qureshi, the alleged mastermind of Kanpur violence on 3 June was demolished.
With inputs from agencies
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