A part of a 185-year-old mosque in Uttar Pradesh was demolished by local authorities on Tuesday. Reason: authorities claim the structure was encroaching on the Banda-Bahraich Highway.

The incident, reported from Fatehpur district, comes days after the Supreme Court underlined that bulldozer action is unacceptable under the rule of law.

The district administration claims that the portion demolished was illegal and had come up in the last two-three years, citing satellite and historical images of the mosque’s site.

The Public Works Department (PWD) claims it had given a notice to remove some parts of the mosque due to their “illegal construction” on August 17.

The mosque officials, claims the PWD, were given a month’s time and they promised to follow suit. However, they decided to challenge the order in the high court, said the PWD.

“About 20 metres of Noori Masjid, which was obstructing the widening of Banda-Bahraich Highway No. 13, was demolished by a bulldozer on Tuesday in the presence of officials and now its debris is being removed,” Lalauli police station in-charge Inspector Vrindavan Rai told news agency PTI.

The chief of the Noori Masjid Management Committee has disputed the PWD’s claim.

“The Noorie Mosque in Lalauli was built in 1839 and the road here was constructed in 1956, yet the PWD is calling some parts of the mosque illegal,” said Mohammad Moin Khan, Mutawalli (chief) of Noori Masjid Management Committee.

Additional District Magistrate Avinash Tripathi said notices were issued to 139 entities in August, including the mosque’s management, to remove encroachments and other illegal constructions.

“Repair work on the road and construction work for a drain have been proposed along the route because of which encroachments have been removed after serving notice,” Mr Tripathi said.

He also stressed that the district administration duly informed the mosque management in the past.

“The management earlier removed shops attached to it. Now removal of a portion became inevitable because it was constructed later. The rest of the mosque has not been demolished. It is evident from satellite and historical images that the construction was done two-three years ago. Only the encroached part has been removed,” Mr Tripathi said.

Police and Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed in every nook and corner of the area to maintain law and order.
 

After making strong observations on the practice of demolishing houses of criminals to send out a strong message against crime, which has come to be known as ‘bulldozer justice’, the Supreme Court is expected to issue a set of pan-India guidelines for such demolitions on Wednesday. 

Hearing several petitions, including one filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, arguing that properties of people were being bulldozed in several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Gujarat, without following due process, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Vishwanathan had asked on September 2 how a house could be demolished just because it belongs to an accused or even a convict in a criminal case. 

Noting affidavits filed by states, the bench had said, “We propose to lay down some guidelines on a pan-India basis so that the concern raised is taken care of.”

In another hearing the same month, the bench had halted the unauthorised demolition of private property anywhere in India till October 1 and warned against “grandstanding” and “glorification” of the practice.

“We made it clear that we won’t stop demolition of unauthorised construction… but the executive can’t be a ‘judge’ (of what is illegal),” it had said.

On October 1, the bench had reserved its judgment but said the order on pausing unauthorised demolitions would continue until it gave its verdict. The proposed guidelines are also expected to be issued with the verdict on Wednesday. 

‘Running A Bulldozer Over Laws’

Hearing related petitions, other benches of the Supreme Court, including one led by former Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, have also made strong remarks on the issue. 

On a petition by a man in Gujarat that municipal officers had threatened to demolish his family’s home with a bulldozer after a case of trespass was registered against him, a bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Sudhanshu Dhulia and SVN Bhatti had said alleged involvement in crime is no grounds for demolition of property and such actions can be seen as running a bulldozer over the laws of the country.

“The court cannot be oblivious to such demolition threats, which are inconceivable in a nation where law is supreme. Otherwise such actions may be seen as running a bulldozer over the laws of the land,” the bench said. 

‘Can’t Throttle Voices’

In another case of “illegal” demolitions in Uttar Pradesh, a bench of then Chief Justice Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra had also laid down the procedure to be followed during road widening and removal of encroachments.

“Citizens’ voices cannot be throttled by a threat of destroying their properties and homesteads. The ultimate security which a human being possesses is to the homestead. The law does not undoubtedly condone unlawful occupation of public property and encroachments,” the bench had said in a judgment given last week, which was uploaded just before Chief Justice DY Chandrachud demitted office. 

“Bulldozer justice is simply unacceptable under the rule of law. If it were to be permitted, the constitutional recognition of the right to property under Article 300A would be reduced to a dead letter,” the Justice Chandrachud-led bench had said. 

The guidelines issued by the bench included asking authorities to verify records and maps, conducting surveys to identify actual encroachments, issuing notices to people accused of encroachment, considering objections, and giving adequate time for the removal of encroachments.