New Delhi: As governments across the country get bulldozer happy, mowing down properties of dissidents or those allegedly involved in rioting, a Patna high court judge recently accused the police of turning law and order into a spectacle while hearing a plea that the house of a person was demolished illegally by the police.
According to LiveLaw, Justice Sandeep Kumar of the Patna high court reprimanded police officers of a station in Bihar’s capital for illegally demolishing a house without following the due process of law. The judge observed that “all the officials are hand in glove with some land mafia”.
The judge was hearing a petition filed by one Sahyoga Devi, whose house was demolished on October 15.
Though a video clip of Justice Kumar’s comments surfaced on social media on December 3, the order was pronounced on November 24, according to the Indian Express.
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In the video, the judge says that based on the counter affidavit of the station house officer in the matter, there is prima facie evidence that the house was illegally demolished.
Justice Kumar says, “Yahan bhi bulldozer chalne laga? Aisa kaun powerful aadmi hai jo bulldozer lekar tod diye uska? (So bulldozers are being used here too? Who are these powerful people for whom you demolished someone’s house using a bulldozer?) Whom do you represent? The state or private persons? Tamasha bana diya ki kisi ka ghar bulldozer se tod denge. (The administration has made a spectacle of demolishing someone’s house.)”
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“Has the police station also been given powers to sort out matters of land dispute? If someone has an issue, he will go to the police station, pay a bribe and get someone’s house demolished. Why don’t you close the court, civil court?” he added, according to a translation provided by Indian Express.
After the petitioner’s lawyer informed the judge that a case had been filed against his client to pressure them to vacate the land, Justice Kumar said, “I am here to protect you, not trouble you.”
“We will get you Rs 5 lakh compensation from the pockets of each (official responsible for the demolition)… police aur CO milkar ghar tudva raha hai ghoos lekar (police and CO are taking bribes to demolish homes),” he added, according to IE.
Dictating the order, the judge said:
“It has been further submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that a false case has been registered by the police against the petitioner and family members to pressurise them to vacate the land at the instance of land mafia who are private respondents in this case. The further proceedings of FIR of Agamkuan Police Station [case number]… shall remain stayed and the police are restrained from arresting the petitioner and his family members who are accused in the case.”
According to the Indian Express, the petitioner’s lawyer Kumar Amit said, “The police erred by taking the case of the accused first. The judge took exception to it and stayed its proceedings… Since a portion of the land was sold to some people, they had tried illegal possession.”
Over the past year, rights activists and former judges have expressed concern that authorities are demolishing houses as a punitive measure in violation of established due process. The Supreme Court has been asked to intervene to put an end to the idea of “bulldozer justice”.