SC ADJOURNS JAMIAT PLEA AGAINST UP’S BULLDOZER JUSTICE TILL JULY 13

                    From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court adjourn to July 13 the hearing on the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind petition against the Uttar Pradesh government using bulldozers to demolish properties of the minorities as a punitive measure.The adjournment came on a plea by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, that he could not hve time to peruse the rejoinder filed by the petition. He also told the court that an individul affected in the matter has approached the Allahabad High Court to pursue the case on her own.

The SG’s adjournment request was not opposed by the counsel for the petitioner.

During the last hearing on June 22, the state government responded to the petition filed by the Jamiat and said that the plea was “cherry-picking one-sided media reporting of a few incidents and extrapolating sweeping allegations from the same against the state”. The state said that the demolitions were “strictly in accordance” with the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973 and termed the allegations against it as “false and misleading”. The UP government said that the demolition of two individuals’ properties which have been cited in Jamiat’s plea was not linked to rioting. “It has failed to note that in both cases, certain portions of the two illegal/ non-compliant structures in question took place; that both buildings were not in conformity with the permission granted and most importantly, proceedings against the two builders had been initiated by the Kanpur Development Authority in August 2020 and February 2022, long before the rioting took place in June 2022,”

The Supreme Court is hearing a plea by the Jamiat, which alleges that the demolitions were politically motivated, targetting minorities, especially Muslims and sought relief that no further action be taken until the case is heard. The body had earlier filed a plea in the SC on the issue of demolition in the Jahangirpuri area of Delhi. The fresh applications in the pending petition said that after the last hearing in the matter some new developments have taken place that requires the attention of the court. “On the day of the protest against statements made by two political leaders, a scuffle broke out between the Hindu and Muslim religious communities, and stone-pelting took place between the two sides. That after the violence in Kanpur, a number of persons in authority have stated in the media that the properties of suspects/ accused would be confiscated and demolished. Even the Chief Minister of the state has said in the media that the houses of accused persons would be razed using bulldozers,” Jamiat’s fresh plea said.

###

You May Also Like