How Supreme Court finally checked ‘bulldozer justice’ – and why it may not be enough

The Supreme Court passed an important judgement on Wednesday to try and stop so-called bulldozer justice or the arbitrary demolition of homes of people accused of a crime.

The judgment’s unequivocally rules these extra-judicial demolitions are illegal. It provides detailed guidelines for municipal authorities to follow when demolishing any property as well as fixes personal responsibility on offficers carrying out demolitions.

The judgment is significant for being the first final order against a spate of illegal demolitions that have gripped many states. However, it leaves significant gaps for authorities to still arbitrarily demolish homes since it does not apply to alleged encroachments on public land.

Background of the case

There are no provisions in Indian law that allow for demolishing property as a punitive measure. Nevertheless, the practice has become commonplace, mainly in states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. The authorities in four BJP-ruled states and one Aam Aadmi Party-governed state punitively bulldozed 128 structures, mostly belonging to Muslims, between April and June 2022, human rights group Amnesty International said in a report in February.

In 2022, three public interest litigation petitions were filed in the Supreme Court against this. On September 17, as part of an interim order, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan temporarily stayed demolitions across the country. However, the...

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