The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that it is illegal to demolish buildings or houses merely because it is owned or occupied by a person who is accused of a crime, while also issuing detailed directions aimed at curbing such 'bulldozer justice.' [In Re: Directions in the Matter of Demolition of Structures].

A Bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan issued these directions by invoking the Supreme Court's inherent powers to do justice under Article 142 of the Constitution of India.

With these directions, the Court has made it clear that the demolition of the houses/ buildings of accused persons cannot be done without due notice and without leaving space for the affect persons to appeal against the proposed demolition.

"It is not a happy sight to see women, children and aged persons dragged to the streets overnight. Heavens would not fall on the authorities if they hold their hands for some period," the Court observed.

The Court has warned that if these directions are flouted, the officials responsible will be liable for contempt of Court and prosecution. Such officers shall be held liable to restitute the demolished property at their own cost and also pay compensation, the top court said.

The Court further made it clear that these directions do not impact action take against illegal buildings or structures on roads, river banks etc.

Directions issued

1. If order of demolition is passed then time has to be given to appeal this order.

2. No demolition is permissible without show cause notice. The notice is to be sent by registered post to the building owner and pasted outside the structure that is proposed to be demolished. At least 15 days from the date of notice must be given before any further demolition action is taken.

3. The notice shall contain details of the nature of violations that led the authorities to propose demolition, the date on which a personal hearing for the affect party is fixed and before whom (which authority) it is fixed. It should also include the list of documents that the noticee has to furnish when making a reply.

4. To prevent any allegation of backdating such notices, as soon as the show cause notice is served, intimation of the same shall be sent to Collector/District Magistrate (DM) of the district by email and an auto generated reply acknowledging receipt of the mail should also be issued from the office of the Collector/DM. The Collector and DM are to appoint nodal officers and assign an email address for this purpose. This email is to be communicated to all municipal and other authorities in charge of building regulations and demolition within one month from today.

5. A designated digital portal is to be provided within three months where details of such notices, replies and the order eventually passed is made available.

6. The designated authority shall give an opportunity of personal hearing to the person affected and the minutes of such hearing shall be recorded.

7. Once a final order is passed thereafter, it should answer if offence of constructing the unauthorised structure is compoundable. If only a part of the structure construction is found illegal/ non-compoundable, it has to be examined why the extreme step of demolition is the only answer. Orders so passed (on determining whether demolition is required) shall be displayed on the digital portal.

8. Opportunity must be given to the owner to demolish or remove the unauthorised structure within 15 days of the order. Steps to demolish the property can be taken only after this 15-day period has elapsed without the illegal structure being removed by the person and if no appellate body has stayed the demolition. Only construction found to be unauthorized and not compoundable shall be demolished.

9. Before demolition, a detailed inspection report shall be prepared by the concerned authority signed by two Panchas (witnesses).

10. Demolition proceedings are to be videographed. The video recording is to be preserved. A demolition report, recording which officials/ police officers/ civil personnel participated in the demolition proceedings, is to be prepared and forwarded to the concerned municipal commissioner. This report is also to be displayed on the digital portal.

These directions are to be forwarded to the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories, the Court added.

The directions came in a batch of petitions raising grievance against Central and State governments bulldozing homes or shops of accused in criminal proceedings as an extra-legal punitive measure.

The Bench earlier, as an interim measure, banned authorities from demolishing properties of those suspected of criminal activities, without first seeking the Court's permission.

The judgment in the case had been reserved on October 1, when it had made it clear that the directions to be issued by the top court would apply pan-India and would not be restricted to any particular community.

The development comes a week after a judgment from (then) CJI DY Chandrachud that said bulldozer justice is simply unacceptable under the rule of law.

Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta appeared for the States of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

Senior Advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, CU Singh, Sanjay Hegde, MR Shamshad and Advocates Nizam Pasha and Anas Tanwir appeared for the affected parties.

Advocate Vrinda Grover appeared for the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing.

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