In an application seeking to intervene in a series of petitions calling for nationwide guidelines on property demolitions, Zameer Uddin Shah stated that, although he retired as Deputy Chief of Army Staff in 2008 without encountering any religious discrimination, he is now deeply concerned by the “targeted and punitive demolitions” being carried out without show cause notices, personal hearings, or judicial review.
NEW DELHI: Former Aligarh Muslim University vice-chancellor and army veteran Zameer Uddin Shah, in a statement to the Supreme Court on Monday (16th Sept), likened the growing use of “bulldozer justice” demolition actions against individuals accused or suspected of crimes to “extrajudicial executions.”
He argued that these measures, employed as state-sanctioned punishment, specifically target the Muslim community without adhering to due legal process.
In an application seeking to intervene in a series of petitions calling for nationwide guidelines on property demolitions, Zameer Uddin Shah stated that, although he retired as Deputy Chief of Army Staff in 2008 without encountering any religious discrimination, he is now deeply concerned by the “targeted and punitive demolitions” being carried out without show cause notices, personal hearings, or judicial review.
The application, filed by advocate Prashant Bhushan, is set to be heard on Tuesday (17th Sept) as the Supreme Court resumes considering petitions from Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and other organizations/individuals challenging the use of property demolitions as punitive actions against accused persons.
“These demolitions are not isolated incidents but represent a broader pattern of collective punishment employed by the state, which is not supported by criminal law. They resemble ‘extra-judicial executions’ and are often disguised as enforcement of municipal or land use regulations, but in reality, they bypass legal due process,” said Shah, who served as vice-chancellor of AMU from 2012 to 2017.
Shah noted that such actions frequently target political dissenters, with “a significant number of these demolition drives disproportionately affecting the Muslim community.”
He referenced an Amnesty International report titled “Bulldozer Injustice in India – 2024,” which found that, between August 2022 and August 2023, most evictions and demolitions were discriminatory and aimed at targeting Muslims.
“When houses are demolished, it punishes an entire family or community, violating the fundamental legal principle that no one should be punished for a crime they did not personally commit,”
the application stated.
On September 2, the Supreme Court announced its intent to establish guidelines to regulate demolitions across India, in light of instances where local governments and police have demolished the properties of crime suspects, and sometimes their families, often using bulldozers or earthmovers without following legal procedures.
On September 12, the Supreme Court condemned the increasing trend of demolishing properties of individuals accused of crimes, calling it “inconceivable in a nation where law is supreme.” The court warned that if this harmful practice is not curbed, it could be seen as “running a bulldozer over the laws of the land.”
A bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Sudhanshu Dhulia, and SVN Bhatti.
The court remarked,
“We cannot overlook such demolition threats, which are unimaginable in a nation where the law is supreme. Such actions may be seen as bulldozing over the laws of the land.”
Meanwhile, other petitioners stressed the importance of issuing show cause notices before any property demolition, with a clear explanation for the action. They also requested a minimum of two months to respond to the notice and sufficient time to file an appeal in court.
