Punjab and Haryana High Court disposes of suo motu proceedings on demolitions in Nuh, Gurugram

More than a year after the Punjab and Haryana High Court initiated suo motu proceedings regarding the demolitions in Nuh and Gurugram, a Division Bench today disposed of the matter. The Bench at that time had asserted one of the issues arising was whether the state was conducting “ethnic cleansing”.

Directing the state to furnish an affidavit on the number of buildings pulled down and whether notice was issued before the action, the Bench had also ruled that the demolitions could not be carried out without following the procedure prescribed in law.

“We are constrained to issue notice to the state as it has come to our notice that the state of Haryana is using force and is demolishing buildings on account of the fact that some riots have occurred in Gurugram and Nuh. Apparently, without any demolition orders and notices, the law and order problem is being used as a ruse to bring down buildings without following the procedure established by law.

“The issue also arises whether the buildings belonging to a particular community are being brought down under the guise of law and order problem and an exercise of ethnic cleansing is being conducted by the state", the Bench had asserted.

As the matter came up for resumed hearing, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal noted that the Supreme Court in September passed an interim order that demolition should not take place in the country without its permission.

The Bench was of the view that it would be inappropriate to keep the matter pending following the interim order passed by the Supreme Court on September 17.