Nagpur Violence: Maharashtra Govt Faces HC Rebuke As Civic Chief Apologises For Fahim Khan’s House Demolition Without Following SC Guidelines
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government suffered an embarrassment on Tuesday when the Nagpur municipal commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari informed the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court in an affidavit that the government had not informed him about the Supreme Court mandate regarding the demolition of houses of those arrested in riot cases.
Nagpur witnessed communal riots on March 17 following rumours that a "chadar" containing Koranic verses was burnt during the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's agitation for the removal of Aurangazeb's burial tomb in Kultabad in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.
Among those arrested was Fahim Khan, an activist who was alleged to be the mastermind behind the riots. Following this the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) bulldozed the allegedly unauthorised two-storeyed house in Sanjay Bagh colony.
Sources in Mantralaya said it was a major lapse on the part of the government not to inform civic corporations about the apex court's guidelines on demolition of allegedly unauthorised structures. Apparently a section of the bureaucracy was opposed to following the Uttar Pradesh pattern of bulldozing homes of riot accused. But the political masters ordered the demolition.
In fact, when the FPJ had pointed out a few weeks ago to revenue minister and BJP state president Chandrashekar Bawankule that the Nagpur demolition was in violation of the SC order, he replied that the NMC had taken legal precautions before bulldozing Fahim Khan's house. Bawankule, who is from Nagpur, had even called Chaudhari over the telephone and confirmed that the demolition was withing the framework of law. Apparently, he was misled on this score.
Because of the major lapse on the part of Mantralaya Chaudhary was forced to tender an unconditional apology to Bombay high court. The civic officials were unaware of the Supreme Court's order, which mandates procedural safeguards before demolishing properties linked to the riots accused, he stated in the affidavit.
A division bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and Vrushali Joshi granted two weeks to the Maharashtra government for a response in the matter. On March 24, the HC's Nagpur bench had ordered a stay on the demolition of the house of Fahim Khan.
While Khan's two-storey house was razed before the HC passed the order in the afternoon of March 24, authorities halted the demolition of the 'illegal' portions of the other accused Yusuf Sheikh's house following the court's directive. The duo had moved the high court earlier that day against the demolition seeking an urgent hearing.
"I am tendering my unconditional apology to the court, to have made this court to observe that the respondent authorities have conducted the demolition of the petitioner's unauthorised construction in contravention of the judgement of the Supreme Court of India," Chaudhari said in the affidavit.
Also, no circular has been received from the state of Maharashtra about guidelines of the SC, which had directed all the chief secretaries of the states and Union Territories to issue circulars to all the district magistrates and local authorities, intimating them about the directions issued by the apex court, he said.
As on date, no such circular has been received by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, the civic chief said in the affidavit. Some of the actions have been done in contravention of the apex court directions, however, the same has not been done intentionally but done for want of knowledge, Chaudhari claimed.
The NMC and its officers have not acted with a malafide intention against the petitioners and their property, but acted in accordance to the prevailing situation and statutory provisions of the Slum Act, 1971, he stated in the affidavit.
However, for want of knowledge and any circular to that effect, neither the competent authority nor zonal officers could comply with the Supreme Court's directions, he claimed. (With inputs from PTI)
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