Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre and states, including Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, that “no lasting precipitative action” like razing buildings be taken as a punitive measure in criminal proceedings.

Last week, the authorities in Madhya Pradesh used bulldozers to demolish properties of people accused of rioting during the Ram Navami celebrations. Similar action has been taken in Uttar Pradesh in the past.

The petition, filed through advocate Kabir Dixit, sought specialised training for police personnel handling communal clashes. It also sought directions to ministers, legislators and anybody unconnected with the criminal investigation “to be restrained from apportioning criminal responsibility in criminal cases either publicly or through any official communication until determination by a criminal court”.

According to the petition, which is yet to be listed for formal hearing, there has been a recent increase in incidents of demolition of residential and commercial properties of suspects in several states.

“In response to alleged acts of violence, the administration in several states has been employing bulldozers to raze down the houses of persons suspected to be involved in such acts/ incidents. A number of ministers and legislators, including the chief minister and the home minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh, have made statements advocating such acts and especially threatened the minority groups with destruction of their homes and commercial properties in case of riots. Resorting to such measures/ actions is clearly against our constitutional ethos and the criminal justice system, as also in violation of the rights of the accused persons. Such measures by the governments undermine the criminal justice system of our country, including the important role of the courts.

“The legal process, including the pre-trial and trial stage, is hindered by these acts of the state, therefore, immediate action is needed to prevent such incidents from repeating.

“The states wherein such measures are being employed by the administrative authorities have been carrying them out with impunity as they are being supported by the top leadership in the said states. Hence, this Hon’ble Court must step in to stop the situation from escalating any further and also prevent such acts from being repeated in other states as well,” the petition stated.

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has listed the following alleged instances in support of its contentions;

⚫ After clashes between Hindu and Muslim communities in Manawar Tehsil of Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district, a house belonging to three Muslim persons accused of being involved in the incident was destroyed by the state administration on March 30.

⚫ The house of two brothers belonging to the Muslim community and accused of gang rape was partially demolished in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, by the police in order to get them to surrender. The police station in-charge also praised his team for bravery after the demolition drive.

⚫ After violent clashes between the Muslim and tribal communities on Holi on March 18 in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district, houses of Muslims were destroyed by the authorities in retaliation.

⚫ On March 20, houses of three persons of minority religious community accused of gang rape in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district were demolished as punishment.

⚫ On April 10, after clashes between two groups belonging to Hindu and Muslim communities on the occasion of Ram Navami and Ramzan, numerous shops and residential premises belonging mostly to the Muslim community were destroyed in different parts of Madhya Pradesh.

⚫ On April 13, the house of a murder-accused was demolished using a bulldozer in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur after the accused persons purportedly escaped from their home after committing the crime.

⚫ On April 15, razing of houses and commercial properties was initiated after clashes took place between the Hindu and Muslim communities on the occasion of Ram Navami. At least 45 properties, including 29 houses and 16 shops, have been demolished till date as a punitive measure for the communal clashes that took place in the state.

The petitioner argued that “such acts by the state governments show a complete disregard for the rights of accused persons. The authorities have been acting in violation of the accused persons’ right to fair trial and condemning them unheard, thus acting against the legal maxim – ‘audi alteram partem’ –which forms an integral part of our legal system.”“Fastening guilt upon persons without any investigation and adjudication by a court thereafter in itself violates the rights of the alleged wrongdoers, and demolition of properties of such persons is even more alarming as the administration, acting as an executor, has been giving punishments that are not even prescribed for the offences allegedly committed by the targeted persons.”

The Jamiat further pointed out that people who had been victims of such demolition drives mostly belonged to religious and caste minorities such as Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis.

“The home minister of Madhya Pradesh has even stated ‘If Muslims carry out such attacks, then they should not expect justice’. Employing these illegal measures mostly against the marginalised and minority groups is a direct attack on the secular fabric, which forms part of the basic structure of our Constitution, as has been held by this Hon’ble Court on numerous occasions. Such persons/ victims have resultantly been deprived of their fundamental right to equality guaranteed by the Constitution under Article 14, as also their right under Article 15 against discrimination for belonging to a particular religious or caste group,” the organisation said.

These acts of illegal demolition of properties also violate the constitutional right of affected persons to enjoy peaceful possession of their properties guaranteed under Article 300,” the organisation said.

According to the petitioner, such illegal actions tend to undermine the authority of the central government and the incidents being widely covered by the international media brings disrepute to the country at the international stage.

“Allowing the delinquent states to continue with such acts would severely hamper the law and order situation in the country and could lead to complete lawlessness as a result.

“Furthermore, the acts of these states of proceeding with vengeance are against the democratic values and weaken the justice delivery system of the country. The rights of the purported victims are also violated by such measures as instead of undertaking proper and adequate investigation into the matters so as to bring the real perpetrators to book, the states have instead been undertaking demolition drives.

“This is bound to result in the real perpetrators escaping punishment due to the highhandedness of the authorities. The fact that several ministers, legislators and other influential politicians and local leaders have been making provocative statements and apportioning criminal responsibility on persons, who to a great extent belong to marginalised and minority communities, in the immediate aftermath of violence, without any investigation taking place, is concerning and undermines the authority of courtship,” the petition said.