The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will lay down
guidelines for all citizens and not for any particular community on the issue
of demolition of properties.
Observing that its directions will be applicable
pan-India, the apex court said it will make it clear that merely because a
person is an accused or even a convict, it can't be a ground for demolition of
property.
"Whatever we are laying
down, we are a secular country. We are laying it down for all the citizens, for
all the institutions not for any particular community," a bench of
Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan said.
Observing that there can't be a different law for a
particular religion, the bench said it will not protect any unauthorised
constructions on public roads, government lands or forests.
"We will take care to ensure that our order
does not help the encroachers on any of the public places," the bench
said.
The hearing in the matter is underway.
The top court is hearing arguments on a batch of
pleas which have alleged that properties, including of those accused of crime,
were being demolished in several states.
The apex court had on September 17 said there will
be no demolition of properties, including of those accused of crime, till
October 1 without its permission.
It had observed that even one instance of illegal
demolition was against the "ethos" of the Constitution.
The apex court had clarified that its order would not be applicable if
there was an unauthorised structure in any public place such as roads, streets,
footpaths, abutting railway lines or any water bodies and also to cases where
there was an order for demolition made by a court of law.