Which law permits bulldozing house for investigating crime? Gauhati High Court slams State for bulldozing houses of 5 accused

The Gauhati High Court on Thursday voiced strong concerns over the trend of bulldozing houses of accused persons under the guise of investigation and took suo motu cognizance of such an action initiated by a Superintendent of Police (SP) who had razed down houses of five men accused of torching a police station..A bench of Chief Justice (CJ) RM Chhaya and Justice Soumitra Saikia sought a clarification from the State as to which law permits such action of bulldozing houses."You (State) show us any criminal law that for investigating a crime, the police without any order, can uproot a person apply a bulldozer?" CJ Chhaya sought to know from the government counsel, who had submitted a report by the SP, who had carried out the action.The State counsel attempted to clarify that this action was not for uprooting any person.But the Chief Justice quipped, "He may be an SP but even your higher ups need to pass through the gamut of law. Only because they are head of the police department, they cannot break anyone's house. Nobody is safe in this country if this kind of action is permitted.".Reportedly, the SP had ordered bulldozing the houses of five Muslim men accused of setting the Batadrava police station in Nagaon district on fire, after a villager died in police custody. During the hearing, the bench sought to know if any prior permission was sought for this action, to which the Counsel informed that a permission was sought for search of the house.The bench expressed 'utter shock' over the method of the police. "This (action) is unheard of, at least with my limited career. I have not come across a police officer using bulldozer by way of a search warrant," the CJ remarked.The Chief Justice further said that the police cannot uproot someone from their house just under the guise of probe. "Tomorrow if someone enters this courtroom forcefully, will you take that person out or will you start digging and uproot the chair on which he is sitting? This method is unheard of Mr. counsel," the judges observed.The bench, in a lighter vein, said such situations are seen only in Bollywood films."In lighter vein, we haven't seen this even in Hindi films. Give the story of your SP to film director Rohit Shetty, he might make a good film on him," the Chief Justice said..The bench even compared the action of the Police to gang war."Is it a gang war or a police operation. One can understand if it is a gang war that one person uproots the house of the other person but such a police operation, we haven't seen," the CJ observed.CJ Chhaya further underscored that in a democratic country, such instances cannot be allowed. "(The words) law and order, therefore, are used together with a purpose. We are in a democratic set up, that is enough to be told to you. Find a way out on this now," CJ Chhaya underlined..The bench then asked the State counsel to inform the Director General of Police (DGP) about this incident since the SP would be of no use (to the court) as he would only rely on his reports to save face. "Let the DGP know of this, otherwise this issue would not be resolved. And please understand, this isn't the manner in which you control the law and order. You can prosecute a person for whatever offence s/he commits. Who gave powers to the police to bulldoze someone's house?" the bench observed further.The matter would be next heard on December 13 for the Police authorities to respond to the issue.