Alleged involvement in crime not a ground for bulldozing private property: Supreme Court

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Sudhanshu Dhulia, and SVN Bhatti said the court cannot be oblivious to actions that may be seen as “running a bulldozer over the laws of the land”.

The court made strong observations while hearing a case related to the attempted demolition of an ancestral house in Gujarat’s Kheda district because of the alleged involvement of a family member in a criminal incident.

The petitioner, Javedali Mahebubmiya Saiyed, has claimed that the Kathlal Nagar Palika had issued a notice of demolition on September 6 — four days after a first information report (FIR) was lodged against his brother on charges of sexual harassment and assault.