Bulldozer demolitions continue with impunity to satiate bloodlust of society: Justice Atul Sreedharan

State governments with impunity have continued to demolish houses of persons accused of crimes despite Supreme Court directions to refrain from such punitive action, Justice Atul Sreedharan of the Allahabad High Court said.

In a ruling delivered on July 20, Justice Sreedharan said such State action is “largely to satiate the perceived blood lust” of a society “fed on a staple diet of bulldozer justice” over the electronic media, social media and messaging platforms. 

“The demolitions continue with impunity as though these judgments do not exist, or the State is certain that the defiance towards the law laid down by the highest Court of the land shall not visit them with any adverse consequences,” Justice Sreedharan said.

The judge made these observations while dealing with a petition alleging punitive action against properties of a family soon after one of their relatives was booked in a case under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act). 

The matter was heard by a Division Bench of Justice Sreedharan and Justice Siddharth Nandan. However, the Bench wrote separate rulings as Justice Nandan disagreed with Justice Sreedharan on certain crucial directions to prevent punitive actions of the State in such cases.

Justice Sreedharan began his ruling with Urdu poet Bashir Badr’s couplet: 

“Loug toot jaate hai ek ghar banane main,

Tum taras nahi khate bastiyan jalane main.”

“People face ruination in just making a home,

and you feel no remorse setting ablaze entire settlements”.

Justice Sreedharan commented in detail on Supreme Court’s bulldozer judgment and right to livelihood. 

“There is a nexus between poverty, unemployment and migration of citizens from rural areas and semi urban areas of the country to the larger cities which leads to creation of unauthorised colonies and ghettos which get marked for demolition one fine day after decades of their existence,” the judge said.

He added that even the houses and gated communities of the rich may not be fully legitimate, but they remain largely untouchable due to their influence of wealth and/or bureaucratic and political patronage. 

He also attributed their safe status to “the ubiquitous and all pervasive culture of corruption that has been normalised and institutionalised in India.”

A sizable number of the houses in India may be falling foul of the municipal laws, the judge said.

“No dwelling place comes up overnight. The authorities who have the duty to ensure that such structures do not come up, close their eyes deliberately on account of political or bureaucratic support that the builder has or out of dishonest,” he added.

While commenting on corruption and collective absence of integrity in institutions across India, Justice Sreedharan referred to the recent theft of donations at Ram Mandir.

“The recent controversy relating to the theft of donations at the Ram Temple is the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back. Nothing can shame a people who remain unfazed by the theft at the Ram Temple which epitomises the nadir of the Indian’s integrity,” he said.

[Read Judgment]