HC stays demolitions after home of man accused in Nagpur violence case bulldozed

The Bombay High Court on Monday stayed the demolition of the properties of two persons accused of being involved in the violence that broke out in Nagpur on March 17, Bar and Bench reported.

The direction came hours after the municipal authorities bulldozed the home of Fahim Khan, one of the persons accused in the matter, on Monday morning. The court’s intervention halted the demolition of allegedly illegal portions of the residence of another accused, Yusuf Sheikh.

Khan, the leader of the Minorities Democratic Party, and others have been charged with sedition and spreading misinformation on social media in connection with the clashes.

The violence broke out hours after Hindutva groups held a protest in Nagpur demanding that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb located in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar be removed.

On Monday, the bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and Vrushali Joshi criticised the municipal authorities for their “high-handedness” and said the demolitions appeared to be prima facie in breach of a 2022 judgement by the Supreme Court relating to bulldozing of structures, Bar and Bench reported.

The plea was heard at the Nagpur bench of the High Court.

Sunil Gajbhiye, Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s deputy engineer, told ANI on Monday that the demolition at Khan’s home had been conducted following “proper investigation”.

“We had the order to investigate a complaint about illegal construction. We did a proper investigation. A notice...

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