New Delhi: The "anti-constitutional face of the BJP, which has crushed humanity and justice under the bulldozer, has now been exposed", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Monday, hailing the Supreme Court's observation on the demolition of houses of accused.
With several state administrations flattening the houses of those involved in criminal cases with bulldozers, the apex court questioned how anybody's house could be demolished just because he is an accused.
The court said it will lay down the guidelines on the issue that would be enforceable across the country.
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi, who is Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said the court's comment on "the BJP's unconstitutional and unjust 'bulldozer policy' is welcome".
"The anti-constitutional face of BJP, which has crushed humanity and justice under the bulldozer, has now been exposed in front of the country," Gandhi said.
The bulldozer, which has become a symbol of unbridled power, has constantly challenged the law with arrogance by crushing civil rights, Gandhi said.
"It is often the households of the Bahujans and the poor that come under the wheels of the bulldozer, which is being run to establish the 'rule of fear' under the guise of 'instant justice'," the former Congress chief said.
"We expect that the Supreme Court will issue clear guidelines on this very sensitive issue and protect the citizens from this anti-democracy campaign of the BJP governments.
"The country will be run by Baba Saheb's Constitution, not by the whip of power," Gandhi added.
Welcoming the top court's observation, former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said on X, "Principles like instant justice are not acceptable in a civilised and law-abiding society and are completely against the basic spirit of the Constitution." "The Supreme Court's observation on the 'bulldozer culture' that has begun in the country in recent years is welcome. Running a bulldozer on the house of any accused is not justice," his X post in Hindi read.
The Congress leader added that he had expressed similar views against this culture publicly two years ago, similar to those expressed by the apex court in the matter today.
Hearing the matter, a bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan said, "How can anybody's house be demolished only because he is an accused? Even if he is a convict, still it can't be done without following the procedure as prescribed by law." The court, however, said it would not protect any unauthorised construction or encroachment on public roads.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, referred to an earlier affidavit filed by the state in the matter.
He said the affidavit states that merely because a person was alleged to have been a part of some offence can never be a ground for demolition of his immovable property.
Mehta said the state has said that demolition of immovable property can take place "only for violation of and in accordance with the procedure prescribed in the respective applicable municipal law or law governing development authorities of the area".
He said no immovable property can be demolished solely on the ground that the owner or occupant of such property was involved in a criminal offence.
Stressing the need for formulating guidelines on the issue, the bench said it was necessary to ensure that neither an individual takes advantage of a loophole nor authorities rely on lacunae.