Supreme Court Judgment Against 'Bulldozer Action' Is Not A Blow To Yogi Adityanath

The Supreme Court's judgment against bulldozer action is being widely perceived as a blow to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who became famous for his 'bulldozer justice' and came to be known as 'bulldozer baba.'

However, to keep the record straight, one must know that the case, on which the judgment was pronounced, stems from a demolition drive scheduled for April 2022 in Delhi's Jahangirpuri following violence during the Hanuman Jayanti procession.

A stay was put on the demolition and later petitions were filed against other state governments including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Gujarat, etc., The 13 November judgment came on these combined petitions.

So, the UP government became a party in the case after additional petitions were filed under the case titled ‘Jamiat Ulama I Hind v. North Delhi Municipal Corporation, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 295/2022.’

Also, during the arguments of the case, the UP government submitted that all 'bulldozer' demolitions were conducted following the word of law. This stance was reportedly appreciated by the Bench as well.

During the 1 October hearing, when a lawyer argued that the UP government demolished structures by giving reasons like the construction was on common village land, Justice B R Gavai agreed that was encroachment.

When the lawyer persisted, "This is to show that in every single case it is sought to be justified on municipal ground," Justice Gavai rebuked him by saying, "We can't stop that, if somebody misuses municipal law."

This means that the Supreme Court's judgment does not defend encroachments. In the directions issued as well, the court has exempted any unauthorised construction on public land and where there is a demolition order by the Court of Law. 

That is why the UP government hailed the Supreme Court's verdict by saying, "The ruling will increase criminals' fear of the law, making it easier to control mafia elements and organised professional criminals."

The UP government spokesperson also clarified that the verdict was part of the case 'Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind vs. North Delhi Municipal Corporation and others' and agreed, "The first requirement of good governance is the rule of law."

The modus operandi of the UP government has been that when demolition is carried out on the property of an accused, only the portions or structures that are illegally built or encroach on public spaces are demolished.

For example, when bulldozer action was taken against rape-accused Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Moeed Khan in Ayodhya, only the portion of his bakery that was illegally built on pond land, a public space, was demolished.

Since the Supreme Court has exempted unauthorised construction on public land from demolition directives, the verdict is unlikely to affect the UP government's demolition drives against the accused if they have some illegal structures in their name.

The only change that the verdict will make is to the timelines. Earlier, there were allegations that the UP government conducted demolition within short notice. The court has now set a notice period of a minimum of 15 days.

Despite this fact, the opposition leaders and the social media critics of Adityanath, are hailing the Supreme Court for 'lending a blow' to the UP government's 'bulldozer justice', even at the cost of making misleading claims.

For instance, SP national president Akhilesh Yadav falsely claimed that the UP government has been asked to pay a fine of Rs 25 lakh by referring to the 13 November Supreme Court judgment.

In reality, the Rs 25 lakh fine was imposed on the UP government in a different case last week where the house was demolished for the purpose of road widening, not because someone from the family was accused.

Yadav also said, "At least, from today onwards, their bulldozer will come to a standstill and remain parked in the garage." However, his dream might not come true as 'Yogi's bulldozer' will most likely keep demolishing illegal structures.