A vacation bench of the Supreme Court issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government advising it to follow due procedures while carrying out the demolition exercise against alleged illegal structures. The court refused to stay the demolition exercise as appealed by Jamiat-Ulama-I-Hind in its petition.
The bench comprising of justices A.S.Bopanna and Vikram Nath heard the plea by Jamiat-Ulama-I-Hind demanding action against officials who allegedly demolished houses in violation of Municipal laws passed by the state government. The court issued a notice saying not to carry out demolition activities except in accordance with legal procedures. The UP government was granted three days by the Court to file an affidavit regarding procedures followed in recent demolitions in the state.
Senior advocate Harish Salve appeared for the state government in the case and argued that the demolitions were done following due process. Representing the petitioners, senior advocate Chandra Uday Singh said that houses that were standing for over 20 years were being demolished and in some cases, houses did not even belong to the accused.
The petitioners also appealed to the court to issue directions to the UP government not to carry out any demolition exercise without following due process and demolition must be done only after providing adequate oppourtunities and hearings to affected persons.
Recently, 12 prominent persons wrote to the apex court demanding it to take suo motu action against the demolition of houses of alleged accused named in recent violence in UP.