Supreme Court to hear petition against UP demolitions on June 16

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will hear on Thursday a plea by the Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind seeking directions to Uttar Pradesh authorities to ensure that no further demolition of houses are carried out without following due process.
Protests have been erupting in many cities to condemn UP authorities for demolishing homes and businesses of people who allegedly took part in violent protests on June 10 in connection with the controversial remarks made by Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal about Prophet Muhammad.

On Sunday, authorities had razed the home of Javed Ahmad, who the police said is the main accused in protests that turned violent last Friday. A day earlier, a multi-storey building allegedly owned by a close aide of Nizam Qureshi, the alleged mastermind of the June 3 violence in Kanpur, was demolished .
Critics have panned the “bulldozer justice”, and have claimed that it is aimed at punishing activists from the minority group.
The Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind had moved the apex court seeking to issue directions to UP that no precipitative action be taken in Kanpur against the residential or commercial property of any accused in any criminal proceedings as an extra-legal punitive measure.
Former judges of the Supreme Court and high courts and some senior advocates had also written a letter to Chief Justice of India NV Ramana requesting the top court to take suo motu cognizance of the detention of protestors and demolition of their houses by UP authorities.

"We urge the Supreme Court to take immediate suo motu action to arrest the deteriorating law and order situation in UP, specifically involving the high-handedness of the police and state authorities, and the brutal clampdown on the fundamental rights of citizens," the letter signed by 12 former judges and senior advocates stated.
Post Jahangirpuri violence
In April, the Supreme Court had stopped an anti-encroachment drive by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation in violence-hit Jahangirpuri and agreed to take up a plea against razing of houses of the accused.
Taking a cue from UP, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, where the administration used bulldozers to raze the properties of people accused of rioting during the Ram Navami processions, the municipality had decided to act against the “encroachments” in Jahangirpuri where riots broke out during a procession commemorating Hanuman Janmotsav.
(With inputs from agencies)