The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a set of guidelines to be followed by states while ordering demolition of a property belonging to a person, either accused or convicted in an offence.
Calling the right to shelter a fundamental right, which could not be violated arbitrarily, the Bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Vishwanathan observed that no house could be demolished only because it belonged to a person accused of an offence.
There was no place for a high-handed approach of the state and its machinery to demolish a private or commercial property of an accused by assuming the role of judiciary and in pre-judging the guilt of the accused, which could only be determined by the judiciary. The executive could not replace the judiciary in performing the latter’s core functions.
Even if a person was convicted of a heinous offence, the state could not take arbitrary action against the accused or convict without following the due process of law. The rule of law and the rights of citizens mandated against such arbitrary action by the executive. Violation of guidelines would invite contempt of court, it added.
Noting that protection of civil rights was essential for protecting constitutional democracy, the Bench said all notices should be put up on a designated portal of the municipal body.
The owner should be served a notice by a registered post. The state could also fix it on the outer portion of the structure. The notice should contain the nature of unauthorised construction, details of the specific violation, and grounds for demolition. The whole process of demolition has to be videographed, it added.
The Bench further said that authorities must be able to show that demolition was the only recourse available, even in cases where there were some encroachments.
The District Magistrates would be accountable for monitoring compliances, it added.