Justice B.V. Nagarathna while speaking at justice S. Natarajan’s centenary celebrations in Chennai on Saturday (November 16) referred to the recent Supreme Court judgement on extrajudicial bulldozer demolitions rampant in some parts of the country.
Quoting from the judgement authored by Justice B.R. Gavai along with Justice K.V. Viswanathan, she said, “If a citizen’s house is demolished merely because he is an accused, or even for that matter a convict, that too without following the due process as prescribed by law, in our considered view it will be totally unconstitutional for more than one reason. Firstly, the executive cannot declare a person guilty as this process is the fundamental aspect of judicial review. Only on the basis of accusations, if the executive demolishes the properties or property of such an accused person without following the due process of law, it would strike at the basic principles of rule of law and is not permissible under the Constitution. The executive cannot become a judge and decide that a person accused is guilty, and therefore punish him even before the court could convict him by demolishing his residential or commercial properties. Such an act of the executive would be transgressing its limits.
The Supreme Court went on to say, ‘the chilling sight of a bulldozer demolishing a building when authorities have failed to follow the basic principles of natural justice and have acted without adhering to the principles of due process reminds one of a lawless state of affairs where might was right. In our Constitution, which rests on the foundation of the rule of law, such high- handed and arbitrary actions have no place. Such excesses at the hands of the executive will have to be dealt with the heavy hand of the law. Our constitutional ethos and values would not permit any such abuse of power and such misadventures cannot be tolerated by the court of law.”
