UN Special Rapporteur seeks intervention in ‘Bulldozer action’ case in Supreme Court
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing Balakrishnan Rajagopal has filed an application to assist the Supreme Court in framing guidelines from an international human rights law perspective to address the concerns of punitive demolitions in India.
The Rapporteur, in an application on Friday, pointed to the danger of using punitive demolition by the State as a tool for land-grabbing.
Earlier this month, while hearing a batch of petitions over punitive demolitions happening across India, Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan had expressed an intention to lay down pan-India guidelines to address concerns.
Rajagopal has told the Supreme Court that the State-driven, punitive and arbitrary demolition of homes and commercial establishments is an “aggravated form of human rights violation”.
“Arbitrary demolitions carried out for purportedly punitive reasons are aggravated forms of human rights violations, especially when they target or result in discriminatory impacts against minorities, and when demolitions result in homelessness, they may constitute a violation of the prohibition against cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment,” LiveLaw quoted the filing.
The top court scheduled the next hearing on October 01. On September 17 the Supreme Court passed an interim order staying demolitions without its permission till October 1, the next date of hearing. The bench clarified that the direction would not apply to the removal of unauthorised constructions on public streets, footpaths, railway lines or water bodies.
In February, Amnesty International released two reports that analysed the punitive demolitions of 128 properties in the states of Assam, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh following episodes of communal violence and protests between April and June 2022. The targeted demolitions were instigated by senior political leaders and government officials and impacted at least 617 people, the report claimed.
Rajagopal is a Professor of Law and Development at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A lawyer by training, he is an expert on many areas of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, the UN system, and the human rights challenges posed by development activities.
This article is originally published on https://maktoobmedia.com/india/un-special-rapporteur-seeks-intervention-in-bulldozer-action-case-in-supreme-court/
