Akhilesh Yadav Jabs Yogi Adityanath

New Delhi: The bulldozer will remain in garage now, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said today, welcoming the Supreme Court judgment in the ‘bulldozer justice’ case and taking a swipe at the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh.

The Kannauj MP was addressing a rally at Sisamau Assembly constituency in Kanpur, which is among the nine seats in Uttar Pradesh where bypolls are due on November 20.

“You must be knowing what Supreme Court has said. It has commented against the bulldozer, which had become a symbol of this government. I thank the Supreme Court for this verdict,” Mr Yadav said. “What to expect from people who break homes? At least, their bulldozer will remain in garage. No poor’s home will be razed,” he added.

Mr Yadav also referred to the lines by poet Pradeep that the Supreme Court included in its judgment. The lines translate to, “Everyone dreams for a home, a person wants to hold on to the dream of a home.” He said there “cannot be a stronger criticism of the government”.

The ‘bulldozer’ had emerged as a symbol of the ruthless State cracking down on people accused in heinous crimes. The Uttar Pradesh government’s frequent use of bulldozer action had earned Chief Minister Adityanath the ‘bulldozer baba’ tag.

Asked about this tag, the Chief Minister had said the government was fighting against land mafia and that it had not taken action against any innocent. “If someone captured government property, should we perform their aarti?” he said in a podcast with ANI.

The Supreme Court today took a tough stand on the issue of ‘bulldozer justice’ and laid down guidelines for carrying out demolition. The bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Viswanathan delivered its judgment on petitions challenging bulldozer action against people accused of crimes. This trend had caught on in several states, Uttar Pradesh among them. While authorities in states have, in the past, said only illegal structures were demolished in such cases, the petitioners had flagged the extrajudicial nature of the action.

In its judgment today, the court said that the Executive cannot replace the Judiciary and legal process should not prejudge guilt of an accused.

The court said accountability must be fixed on public officials who take law into their hands and act in a high-handed manner.

“For an average citizen, construction of a house is the culmination of years of hard work, dreams and aspirations. House embodies collective hope of security and future. If this is taken away, authorities must satisfy it is the only way,” the bench said.

“The chilling sight of a bulldozer demolishing a building, when authorities have failed to follow the basic principles of natural justice and have acted without adhering to the principle of due process, reminds one of a lawless state of affairs, where ‘might was right’,” the court said.

Violation of the court’s directions would lead to contempt proceedings, the bench warned. The bench clarified that its directions won’t be applicable for unauthorised structures in public places such as road, street, footpath, railway lines or water bodies and in cases where there is an order for demolition by a court of law.