Coming down hard on ‘bulldozer justice’, the Supreme Court on Wednesday laid down pan-India guidelines on demolition of properties and said the Executive cannot become a judge, declare an accused as guilty and demolish his house.
“If the Executive, in an arbitrary manner, demolishes the house of a citizen only on the ground that they are accused of a crime, then it acts contrary to the principles of rule of law,” a bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan said.
The apex court said it will be “totally unconstitutional” if houses of people are demolished merely because they are accused or even convicts.
The Executive can’t replace the Judiciary in performing its core function, Justice Gavai said while pronouncing the verdict.
“If the Executive acts as a judge and inflicts penalty of demolition on a citizen on the ground that he is an accused, it violates the principle of separation of powers,” the bench said.