From auto drivers to juice shop owners, how bulldozers are fighting legal battles against justice.

Himanshi Dhawan, New Delhi: These were the longest two hours of 61-year-old Rashid Khan’s life. Rashid is an autorickshaw driver. he/she earns Rs 1,000-1,500 daily. Rashid had saved and borrowed for several years to buy a four-room house for Rs 16.5 lakh. On the morning of 17 August, he/she found his/her life’s savings being demolished brick by brick with a bulldozer. By 1 pm, nothing was left but debris.

against the values ​​of the constitution

Rashid says after seeing his/her savings destroyed before his/her eyes, it is difficult to trust anything. But a ray of hope arose this week when the Supreme Court directed states to stop demolition by October 1. Hearing petitions alleging illegal demolition of properties of the accused in several states, the court said that if there is even a single case of illegal demolition… then it is against the values ​​of our Constitution. The Supreme Court proposes to make some guidelines on this issue, which can be implemented across the country.

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Rashid’s house is an example of this. Udaipur authorities claim that the building had encroached on forest land and hence it was demolished. However, the reason for driving the bulldozer was a crime which Rashid claims has little to do with him/her. It all started when an argument between two 16-year-olds at school turned violent. One child (from the minority community) stabbed another. The Hindu boy succumbed to his/her injuries and a sequence of violence ensued.

Demand for bulldozer justice started rising

Minority community properties were attacked, vehicles were set on fire, shops were vandalized and within hours ‘bulldozer justice’ (a term coined in Uttar Pradesh which was later used in BJP-ruled states as well) The demand also spread in some states like Rajasthan, where Congress was in power. In Udaipur, the accused was arrested and sent to the Juvenile Detention Centre. But the matter did not end here.

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When Kishore’s father woke up the next morning, he/she saw a demolition notice pasted on the house he/she had rented from Rashid. Within hours the bulldozers arrived and the property was demolished. Rashid says he/she screamed while trying to convince himself that he/she was the owner of the property. They had nothing to do with the crime, but the wheels of injustice had already turned.

Rashid reached Supreme Court

Rashid says when I came to know about the notice, I showed the sale deed, tax receipts, documents for water and electricity connections along with my file to show that I had followed the law. But no one paid attention. Unlike other victims of bulldozer justice, Rashid took the case to court. Punitive demolitions have become a visible symbol of brutal state power, says M Huzaifa, a lawyer with the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), one of the lawyers representing Rashid in the Supreme Court.

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The Supreme Court’s warning in this case that the executive cannot act as a judge is a long overdue powerful statement. A commission of investigation and reparations is needed to restore justice and maintain the rule of law.

Arbitrary action in the name of immediate justice?

An Amnesty International report said ‘punitive demolition’ of 128 properties took place in the states of Assam, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh following communal violence and protests between April and June 2022. More than 600 people have been affected by this. Following the court order, the Assam government has paid Rs 30 lakh as compensation to six victims whose houses were demolished in Nagaon in May 2022.

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against the principle of nation building

Professor Khalid Anees Ansari, a sociologist at Azim Premji University, says that such vandalism violates the right to life of the individual and the community. Ansari says, we find that many state interventions appear to provide immediate justice, but instead it is an arbitrary, forceful response taken without due process of law. The Supreme Court has spoken against it. It condemned punishing a family based solely on the suspicion that a member may have broken the law. The family whose house has been destroyed suffers from trauma and isolation and this goes against the principle of nation building.

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Shop demolished after riots

Ganesh Gupta, owner of Gupta Juice Corner in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, faced ‘bulldozer justice’ after the communal riots during the Hanuman Jayanti procession in April 2022. Gupta’s shop at the busy Kaushal Cinema Chowk, a landmark since the 1970s, was demolished just hours after the riots, despite him/her continuing to plead with the authorities that the allotment of his/her land was legal.

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Borrowed from family, friends

Gupta, who approached the Supreme Court for compensation, says that I went to the court because I knew that I had all the documents and could legally confront the authorities. he/she said that in the last several years I have paid rent worth lakhs and have followed all the rules. I will keep fighting until I get justice. A few days after his/her shop was demolished, Gupta approached the authorities to seek relief, but was unsuccessful. Unable to restart the shop for six months, he/she had to borrow money from his/her family and friends.

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Daughter’s marriage had to be postponed

Ganesh says, ‘I could not pay my children’s school fees for two months. My daughter was to get married in November and I had to postpone the marriage. I took a loan of more than Rs 5 lakh to rebuild the shop because the fridge, juice machine… everything was ruined. Whatever was left was taken over by the municipality. he/she has a debt of Rs 3 lakh.

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Stone pelting during the procession… then bakery broken

Just a week before Gupta’s shop was attacked with a bulldozer, Amjad Khan, 41, had lost his/her bakery in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh. Amjad had seen his/her father selling rusk toast on a cart. he/she started a bakery in 2012 and gradually grew it to a turnover of Rs 3 lakh per month. he/she kept sending his/her biscuits to Gujarat and Maharashtra. On 10 April 2022, an incident of stone pelting and arson took place during a Ram Navami procession in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh. About 80 people were arrested in this. The next day the authorities demolished several houses. Amjad’s bakery was also included in these.

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Why demolition without proper procedure?

Advocate Syed Ashar Warsi, who represents people affected by the demolitions in Khargone and Sidhi in Madhya Pradesh, says that in all the cases the victims were from the minority community, whose houses were built 20-30 years ago. Our main argument is why such haste in demolition without proper process? This is a violation of people’s right to life and shelter. Amjad, whose petition is in the courts of Madhya Pradesh, is now waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision. They say we are living in fear, but have no option but to move forward.