The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered to maintain “status-quo” on the demolition drive conducted by North Delhi Municipal Corporation in Jahangirpuri in the national capital. The court said it will would hear on Thursday the petition challenging the special joint encroachment removal programme in Jahangirpuri of the civic bodies including the NDMC and the PWD. A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana hearing the submission of Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave ordered status quo in the present situation and said the petition would be listed before an appropriate bench. The Supreme Court asked the registry to communicate the status quo order to North Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor, North DMC Commissioner and Delhi Police Commissioner.
The court’s order came even as bulldozers started razing structures in the area as per orders of the BJP-controlled North Delhi Municipal Corporation and amid heavy police presence. The “encroachment removal action programme” was scheduled to take place on Wednesday and Thursday after the area witnessed violence on April 16 during a religious procession
In the hearing, senior advocate Dushyant Dave mentioned that an “unconstitutional, unauthorised demolition” was taking place in Jahangirpuri where riots took place. Dave also apprised the court that the demolition drive, which was scheduled to be carried out in the afternoon had begun in Jahangirpuri at 9 am on Wednesday. Meanwhile, senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the plea filed by Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind’s plea against employing bulldozers to raze houses of persons suspected to be involved in crimes.
Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind moved the Supreme Court against employing bulldozers to raze down the houses of persons suspected to be involved in criminal incidents such as violence. Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind has urged the Supreme Court to issue appropriate direction to the Centre and state governments that no lasting precipitative action be taken against any accused in any criminal proceedings and issue directions that residential accommodation cannot be demolished as a punitive measure.
In its petition Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind said that there has recently been an increase in the incidents of demolition of residential and commercial properties by government administration in several states as a punitive measure towards persons purportedly involved in criminal incidents such as riots. “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 the destruction of their homes and commercial properties in case of riots,” the petition read.
According to the petition, resorting to such measures/
actions is clearly against our constitutional ethos and the criminal justice system, as also in violation of the rights of 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 petitioner said, urging the top court to step in to stop the situation from escalating any further and also prevent such acts from being repeated in other states as well. Therefore, Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind has sought directions that any commercial property cannot be demolished as a punitive measure. It also sought to issue directions to provide training to police personnel in handling communal riots and situations where populations become restive.
The petitioner also urged to issue directions that ministers, legislators and anybody unconnected with the criminal investigation should be restrained from apportioning criminal responsibility regarding criminal action publicly or through any official communication until a determination by a criminal court publicly or any official communication until a determination by a criminal court.
Meanwhile, top Delhi BJP leaders met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi, hours after the demolition drive in violence-hit Jahangirpuri that was halted by the Supreme Court. Amit Shah met with the Delhi leaders for an hour. Those in the meeting were Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta, MP Ramesh Bidhuri, MLA Ram Bir Bidhuri and leader Maninder Singh Sirsa. The leaders didn’t disclose anything on the talks. “It was a routine meeting,” said Sirsa. Adesh Gupta had written to North Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh calling for an anti-encroachment drive in the area where communal clashes erupted on Saturday during a Hanuman Jayanti procession. Gupta asked the civic body to identify illegal constructions by “rioters” and demolish them.
Meanwhile, a report from Midnapur (West Bengal) said a three-member team, including a Delhi Police Crime Branch official, arrived in West Bengal’s East Midnapore to investigate the links of the accused in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri violence. Delhi Police Crime Branch ASI Suresh Kumar and the team went to the Sutahata police station from where they were taken to accused Dilshad’s home in Golapchak village which comes under the Sutahata police station. The officials interacted with the villagers and enquired about the accused. Later, they visited Hiatpur, the home of another accused Zakir who was arrested in connection with the violence. ASI Suresh Kumar said that the West Bengal police are extending support in the investigation. However, he did not reveal anything about the investigation.
“We are getting proper support from Bengal police. The investigation is going on. But I can’t say anything about the investigation. After completion of the investigation, our senior officer will say everything,” Suresh Kumar said. A relative of Zakir said that the team enquired about whether the accused belongs to Bangladesh or West Bengal. “They asked if he was from Bangladesh or a resident of this place. He is not residing here, nor he is from Bangladesh, he stays in Delhi all the time but he comes here sometimes. This is not his house, but his brother’s house. He got married and his in-laws’ house is 10 mins away from here, whenever he comes, stays there,” she said.
Earlier in the day, the Delhi court sent accused Gulli and Dilshad to 3-day police custody. They were presented before a Delhi court for the first time on Wednesday, said Rakesh Kaushik, lawyer of one of the accused persons in the Jahangirpuri violence case.
RAHUL TWEETS, RIJIJU REACTS
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday sneered at the BJP’s move to start an encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri by tweeting, “This is a demolition of India’s constitutional values. This is state-sponsored targeting of the poor and minorities. BJP must bulldoze the hatred in their hearts instead.”
In response, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted: “I have never seen a Political Party in India which is more Communal than Congress Party. There’s no difference at all between Congress Party & Muslim League or Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen.”