On 30th September, the Supreme Court sent notice to the Assam government on a plea charging it with contempt for allegedly disobeying the court’s interim order from 17th September to stop demolitions nationwide without consent. The petition was filed by at least 48 residents of Kachutoli Pathar and other nearby locations in the Sonapur mouza of the Kamrup Metropolitan. The status quo will be upheld until the next hearing, according to a bench consisting of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan. “Issue notice. In the meantime, parties to maintain the status quo,” it declared.
Earlier, an eviction notice was served to the residents of the Kachutali village near Sonapur town. The eviction notice stated that the residents were unlawfully occupying the land and were not authorized to claim the plot, as it was designated for members of the Scheduled Tribes under the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation.
However, the court halted the demolition drive and issued a contempt notice against the state government. According to the ruling, no demolition could take place across the nation without first receiving permission from the apex court. The bench did state that buildings established on public property would be removed without warning, even if they were religious, and that its order would not prevent authorities from taking action if such land was encroached upon. The court issued a notice directing the Assam government to file a reply in 21 days.
Advocate for the petitioner, Huzefa Ahmadi described the acts of the Assam government as a “violation of the top court’s order”.The panel did point out that the Assam government did not execute any demolition. “There’s no demolition yet. We’ll issue a notice,” the bench pronounced. According to the petition, officials disregarded legal procedures, such as the requirement to give tenants a month’s notice to leave before serving them with an eviction notice.
The petitioners alleged that the authorities destroyed their homes despite the Supreme Court’s earlier verdict and the Assam Advocate General’s 20th September guarantee to the Gauhati High Court that no legal action would be taken against them until the representations are disposed of in the manner directed by the Supreme Court in the order dated 3rd February 2020.
The petitioners contended that they have resided in the area for many years following contracts they had with the original landowners. They added that they have not broken any laws and that their occupation was allowed by preexisting arrangements, refuting the state’s claim that they are “illegal occupants” on tribal land. They asserted that many of them belong to protected classes. The petitioners clarified that they never purchased the land and have never proclaimed their ownership of it.
They further maintained that the demolitions violated the fundamental rights under Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Constitution of the residents which protect their equality before the law as well as their right to life and personal liberty, because they were carried out without providing the residents with a fair hearing and depriving them of their homes and means of subsistence.
“However, here in the present case, the respondent authorities have not followed the order passed by the court for the event of eviction and have flagged or put up red stickers on the walls of the petitioners without sending any kind of notice or letter stating the issue of eviction or demolition,” the petitioners stated. In addition, the petitioners claimed that long before the region was named a Tribal Belt, they and their relatives were registered pattadars of the scheduled lands, dating back to the 1950s.
On 17th September the Supreme Court issued a temporary directive prohibiting demolition action nationwide without its permission, till 1st October. The order was pronounced during a hearing on several appeals against bulldozer actions in India. The court made it clear that encroachments on public roads, walkways, railroad tracks, and waterbodies will not be covered by the ruling which was issued by Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan. The order came in response to petitions opposing the purported activities of several state governments demolishing the properties of people accused of crimes as a punitive measure.
(With inputs ANI)
