{"id":255806,"date":"2023-08-11T19:34:22","date_gmt":"2023-08-11T14:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=255806"},"modified":"2023-08-29T13:55:35","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T08:25:35","slug":"demolitions-as-state-sanctioned-collective-punishment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/demolitions-as-state-sanctioned-collective-punishment\/","title":{"rendered":"Demolitions as state-sanctioned collective punishment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>: The post is based on the article\u00a0\u201cDemolitions as state-sanctioned collective punishment<\/strong>\u201d published in The Hindu <\/strong>on\u00a011th<\/sup> August 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS 2 \u2013 Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Relevance: <\/strong>Issues with state led demolitions drive<\/strong><\/p>\n

News:<\/strong> In Nuh, Haryana, several homes were demolished in neighborhoods by the state government as a form of bulldozer justice following the riots.<\/p>\n

The state governments justifies that these demolitions are done to remove \u201cillegal structures\u201d or \u201cencroachments\u201d. However, the courts have highlighted specific procedures for conducting demolitions.<\/p>\n

What are the observations of the court regarding demolitions?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Courts have acknowledged that<\/strong> “unauthorized structures” frequently serve as homes for economically disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals, who have been failed by the state in its obligation to provide shelter to all its citizens.<\/p>\n

Hence, other than enforcing basic procedural requirements<\/strong> such as adequate notice, courts have emphasized that the administration must conduct a survey before demolitions<\/strong> to assess residents’ eligibility for rehabilitation schemes.<\/p>\n

If they are eligible, then rehabilitation should be done before any demolitions.<\/p>\n

However, state governments frequently disregard these procedures and conduct demolitions at their own convenience.<\/p>\n

For example, last year,<\/strong> it was discovered that the administration had changed the date on a demolition notice to make it seem like they were following the rules.<\/p>\n

What do states clarify in carrying demolitions?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The states conduct these demolitions as a way to enact punishment against those linked to riots, attempting a form of frontier justice. They also argue that the courts are slow, <\/strong>frequently grant bail, and are lenient in granting acquittals.<\/p>\n

Therefore, in order to calm public outrage, the state must take it upon itself to deliver \u201cjustice\u201d outside the bounds of law.<\/p>\n

However, despite widespread violation of zoning regulations, it is the vulnerable and marginalized communities that are subjected to demolitions.<\/strong> Additionally, the demolitions are predominantly concentrated in Muslim neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

Hence, the High Court of Punjab and Haryana noted that the focused targeting of a specific community resembled ethnic cleansing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What are the concerns with the state carrying out demolitions?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Bulldozer justice involves collective punishment<\/strong>, penalizing not only the accused before guilt is established but also impacting their innocent family members.<\/p>\n

Imposing punishment without establishing guilt, at the discretion of the state, violates the rule of law. <\/strong>The rule of law safeguards individuals from an overreaching state.<\/p>\n

Therefore, abandoning the rule of law for frontier justice is the first step towards an authoritarian society<\/strong>, where personal safety, property, and even fundamental rights become subject to the arbitrary decisions of state authorities.<\/p>\n

Must Read: <\/strong>Picking Up Peace \u2013 on economic costs of riots<\/strong><\/a> and <\/strong>Haryana violence was preventable. Why did it happen?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

What can be the way ahead?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The responsibility to uphold the rule of law and the Constitution rests with the courts.<\/strong> However, the courts, including the Supreme Court of India, have remained silent for over a year, even accepting the state’s justification for demolitions.<\/p>\n

Hence, the recent High Court order of Punjab and Haryana recognizes<\/strong> the unlawful bulldozer justice pattern, potentially initiating the judiciary’s stance against state impunity and upholding fundamental constitutional principles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: The post is based on the article\u00a0\u201cDemolitions as state-sanctioned collective punishment\u201d published in The Hindu on\u00a011th August 2023. Syllabus: GS 2 \u2013 Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation. Relevance: Issues with state led demolitions drive News: In Nuh, Haryana, several homes were… Continue reading Demolitions as state-sanctioned collective punishment<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[300,212],"class_list":["post-255806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-governance","tag-gs-paper-2","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255806\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}