NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the state of Assam to keep up established order on Sonapur demolitions drive and issued a discover to the authorities in response to a contempt petition filed by 47 residents, who alleged deliberate non-compliance with the Court docket’s interim order dated September 17.
The order had directed that no demolition ought to happen anyplace within the nation with out the Court docket’s prior approval.
Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan, constituting the bench, issued a discover returnable inside three weeks and directed the events to keep up the established order within the intervening interval.
Earlier on September 17, elevating severe concern over bulldozers getting used as a punitive instrument, which SC mentioned was in opposition to the ethos of the Structure and wanted to be subjected to “judicial oversight“, Justices Gavai and Viswanathan mentioned there was apprehension of its misuse by the chief, which couldn’t act because the decide.
Nevertheless, the bench mentioned that its order wouldn’t are available in the best way of authorities taking motion in case of encroachment on roads and public land, and buildings constructed on it might be demolished with out discover even when they had been non secular in nature.
Faruk Ahmed and plenty of different petitioners have mentioned of their petition that they’ve been residing within the villages of Kachutoli Pathar, Kachutoli, and Kachutoli income village in Sonapur mouza, Kamrup Metro district, for an prolonged interval. They’ve been occupying the land underneath a legally legitimate deed of Energy of Legal professional executed by the unique pattadars (landowners), though they don’t possess possession rights.
The petition additionally talked about a Gauhati Excessive Court docket order dated September 20, 2024, through which the Advocate Common offered an enterprise that no motion could be taken in opposition to the petitioners till their representations had been disposed of, following the Supreme Court docket’s February 3, 2020 order.
Nevertheless, the authorities allegedly marked the petitioners’ houses for eviction with out prior discover.
The petitioners have mentioned that they’ve been residing peacefully on the land for over seven or eight a long time, with none dispute with the neighbouring tribal or protected communities. They’ve clarified that, opposite to the authorities’ claims of them being unlawful occupiers of tribal land, they’ve been allowed to reside there by the unique landowners, a lot of whom belong to protected courses. The petitioners have emphasised that the land was by no means offered to them, and so they have by no means claimed possession, ANI reported.
Moreover, the petitioners have said that they and their ancestors have been registered pattadars of the scheduled lands because the Fifties, effectively earlier than the world was designated a Tribal Belt.
SC handed the interim order that might stay legitimate until the subsequent date of listening to on Oct 1 after it was alleged that razing of homes and business property continued unabated in numerous states even after SC frowned on the observe and agreed to look at a plea for framing tips.
