Mumbai: Despite clear orders from the Supreme Court against the executive acting as “judges” and resorting to demolishing houses as a form of “punishment” without following the due process of law, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) Monday, March 24, went ahead with the demolition of the house of one of the persons accused in the Nagpur violence case from last week.
A day ago, the municipal corporation had issued a notice to two of the main accused – Fahim Khan and Yusuf Sheikh – for alleged illegal portions of their houses. The notice didn’t give the families of the two accused any time to respond and stated that the municipal authorities would start within 24 hours. The civic authorities arrived with multiple JCBs and police protection at Khan’s house to begin the demolition work at 10 am on March 24, Monday.
Following the violence that broke out in several parts of Nagpur last week, the police named Khan as the “mastermind” behind the violence. He is one of over 100 persons arrested in the violence case of March 17.
The civic authorities approached Khan’s house, which is registered in his mother’s name. The family had approached the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court against the demolition. Khan’s lawyer, Ashwin Ingole, says the court promptly took up the case for hearing and directed them to immediately serve a copy of their petition to the civic authorities. “Which we did even before they had begun the demolition work at 10:30 am. The case was kept for hearing at 2:30 pm, and this was communicated to the civic authorities. They still went ahead with the demolition, and by the time the case came up for hearing, Khan’s house was already destroyed,” Ingole told The Wire.
The division bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and Vrushali Joshi reprimanded the administration for its “highhandedness” and immediately asked them to stop the demolition. Sheikh’s house was spared because of the court’s intervention.
On March 17, violence broke out in several parts of Nagpur following the agitation launched by members of far-right groups like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. Tensions escalated in Nagpur after unverified reports spread across the state, claiming that during a protest organised by the radical Hindutva groups, a cloth inscribed with “Kalma,” a holy text, was burned by Hindutva miscreants.
The police have since booked many from the Muslim community under Sedition.
In the violence, along with the destruction of public property, several policemen deputed on riot duty were allegedly injured. Reacting to the incident, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who hails from Nagpur, claimed that those responsible for the violence would be made to pay and dealt with sternly.
The municipal authorities had a go-ahead signal from the CM’s office, which also handles the home portfolio. Fadnavis, speaking to the media, had said that the administration would proceed with the demolition if the law permitted. However, the authorities resorted to demolition even though the recent Supreme Court ruling on “bulldozer justice” tactics, as well as several other landmark rulings in the past, have clearly directed the authorities to follow the law and not arbitrarily resort to demolition.
Ingole told The Wire that both Khan and Sheikh’s families had to hurriedly move out of their homes soon after the notice was issued. “They don’t have an alternative space to live,” Ingole said. It is the holy month of Ramzan for Muslims, and most people observe fast during the day. The situation across Nagpur, Ingole said, has been “stressful.” “But the court’s order today helped save Sheikh’s house,” he added.
The case comes up for hearing on April 15 next, and the petition, Ingole says, stands as the civic authorities are in direct contempt of the apex court’s ruling.
