Viral: How Beautifully Justice Gavai Opened His Bulldozer Justice Judgment
The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on authorities in various states against the alleged rampant demolition of homes of those accused of crimes. While noting that Bulldozer reminds of lawlessness, the court reaffirmed that executives cannot replace the judiciary.
Strikingly, the opening sentence of the judgment delivered by Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai has been hailed as beautifully crafted introduction, which quoted Hindi poet Pradeep. “To have one’s own home, one’s own courtyard—this dream lives in every heart. It is a longing that never fades, to never lose the dream of a home,” the judge quoted the poet while highlighting the importance of shelter for every individual and their families under their heads.
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“A house is an embodiment of the collective hopes of a family or individual’s stability and security,” the court added, asking whether the executive should be permitted to take away the shelter of a family or families as a measure for infliction of penalty on a person accused of a crime.
How beautifully Justice Gavai has opened his judgment against bulldozer injustice pic.twitter.com/YDQFfgOt0I
— Paras Nath Singh (@parasnsingh95) November 13, 2024
While hearing petitions challenging bulldozer action, a bench of justices comprising B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan took a tough stance, asserting that the executive cannot replace the judiciary. The trend of demolishing the house of accused in crimes had gained momentum in the recent years as several state governments resorted to the so-called action, referred to as ‘Bulldozer justice.’
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Though the authorities maintain that only illegal structures were demolished in such cases, petitions filed before the court flagged misuse of the civil authorities and the extrajudicial nature of the action.
The court underlined that it has to consider the rights guaranteed under the Constitution that provide protection to individuals from arbitrary state action and also the regard to fairness in the criminal justice system, which mandates that the legal process should not prejudge the guilt of the accused.
Slamming the officials engaged in such actions, the court said accountability must be fixed on public officials who take law into their hands and act in a high-handed manner. “The state and its officials can’t take arbitrary and excessive measures. If any officer of the state has abused his power or acted in a total arbitrary or malafide manner, he cannot be spared,” the court said, adding that the presumption could be that the real motive was not razing the illegal structure but penalizing without trial.
The court also reminded the age-old adage of the Indian judiciary that an accused cannot be declared guilty unless proven so beyond reasonable doubt before a court of law.
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, the court said, while warning that the officials who are responsible for the action will be liable to pay from their salary for the destruction.
