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Crime, law and justice
Assam: Bulldozing homes of 73 Muslim families in Goalpara was unlawful, says HC
The court said it was ‘unthinkable’ that the administration issued notices that did not provide the residents an opportunity to respond.
The Goalpara district administration bulldozing of the homes of 73 Bengali Muslim families built on private agricultural land was unauthorised, the Gauhati High Court said.
The administration had bulldozed the homes on September 7. The demolitions were carried out within two days of the residents being served a notice by the circle officer on September 5 warning of legal action if they did not raze within 24 hours the homes built on their own agricultural land.
The action against the residents would be taken under the settlement rules of the 1886 Assam Land and Revenue Regulation and the 2005 Disaster Management Act, the authorities had said in the notice.
Twenty-one residents had challenged the notice in the High Court, contenting that they had not been given the opportunity to contest it.
While hearing the matter on September 7, the court took note of the 2015 state land reclassification and transfer Act as stating that no permission is required when an agricultural land up to one bigha is to be used for constructing a person’s own home not more than two-storeys.
The court had said that the actions by the state “prima facie appear to be illegal and unauthorised”. It said that the actions seemed to have violated the principles of natural justice under the Constitution.
“It is absolutely unthinkable in the present day when there are galore of settled principles that such notices were issued in this manner without providing even an opportunity to the petitioners,” the court had said.
The court also said that the notices “do not reflect any imminent danger to invoke such drastic powers on private lands”.
The court had asked the administration to submit a report explaining what was the imminent danger that necessitated the demolitions.
In its September 11 order, the court said that the instructions placed before it by the administration do not show that there was a case of imminent danger for carrying out the demolitions.
The court said that at a cursory reading, it appears that the bulldozing of the homes was a misuse of the Disaster Management Department Act.
Since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in Assam in 2016, multiple demolition drives have been conducted across districts, mostly targeting areas populated by Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Written by Nachiket Deuskar. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.