‘Bulldozer justice is not acceptable’, Supreme Court said – These 6 steps should be taken before demolishing any property

New Delhi: In a historic decision, the Supreme Court has completely rejected ‘bulldozer justice’. The court has made it clear that citizens’ property cannot be demolished without any legal process. This decision has come in cases where bulldozers were being used to demolish illegal constructions in several states. Hearing a petition related to a house demolition case that took place in 2019 in Maharajganj district of Uttar Pradesh, the bench said that as per the law Bulldozing justice under this regime is completely unacceptable. Under Article 300A of the Constitution, every citizen has the right to property and this right cannot be infringed. While delivering the judgement, the court ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to pay an interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the petitioner, whose house was demolished for road development.

These 6 steps should be taken before demolishing any property

In a historic decision, the Supreme Court has ordered some important steps to be taken before demolishing any property. The Court said that from now on before demolishing any property the following procedure will have to be followed:

• Before demolishing any property the authorities have to ensure whether the property is actually illegal as per the existing land records and maps.
• The authorities will have to conduct a proper survey to identify the actual encroachment.
• Three written notices will be issued to the alleged encroacher, so that he/she gets a chance to present his/her views.
• All the objections received in response to the notice will be considered and only then a decision will be taken.
• If any property is found to be illegal, the encroacher will be given sufficient time to voluntarily remove it.
• If a person does not remove his/her property voluntarily then the government will have to acquire that land through legal process.

Action will be taken against those who demolish property illegally

The CJI said that strict action will be taken against any government official who demolishes any person’s property without any legal process or approves such action. he/she said that the rule of law is equal for all and no officer can take the law into his/her own hands. Public officials must be accountable to the public and follow due legal process for any action taken.