– Akhilesh Tripathi
The Uttar Pradesh government has withdrawn the notices issued for bulldozing the houses of those accused in the violence that occurred during the immersion of a Durga idol in Maharajganj town in Bahraich district. The UP government informed Allahabad High Court about the withdrawal of the notices during a hearing.
The withdrawal of the notices has provided significant relief to the accused, while also exposing the arbitrary actions taken by the UP government against people of a particular community. This development has put the state government on the backfoot.
In Maharajganj, violence erupted last month during the Durga idol immersion procession, resulting in the death of one person. Following this, under the directives of the UP government, the district administration of Bahraich accused members of a specific community of being responsible for the violence. Subsequently, it was decided to demolish the homes of 23 individuals who were accused of participating in the violence. Notices for the demolition were posted on the homes of the accused, giving them an extremely short period of just three days to respond, making it difficult for them to defend themselves, with the aim of demolishing their houses.
The reason cited for the demolition was road widening, alleging that the accused had encroached upon the road. The notices were issued by Public Works Department (PWD) of Bahraich. In response to these notices, the accused, along with Abdul Hamid’s daughter, Rukhsar, sought assistance from APCR (Association for Protection of Civil Rights), describing the injustice being done to them and requesting help.
Responding to their plea, APCR Chief Executive Syed Mahfoozur Rahman contacted advocate Saurabh Shankar Srivastava and filed a PIL in Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow Bench. Simultaneously, a PIL was also filed in the Supreme Court to challenge the actions.
The petition filed by the APCR in the Supreme Court could not be heard. However, the Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow Bench took up the matter and stayed the bulldozer action.
The High Court also directed the accused and the state government to submit their responses. During the next hearing on October 23, the petitioners submitted their reply, but the state government failed to do so. Consequently, the court scheduled the next hearing for November 4.
The failure of the Yogi government to submit a response led to significant embarrassment and criticism of the state government. Angered by this, the Yogi administration transferred Malikhan, the Superintendent Engineer of PWD in Bahraich, to Etawah and immediately relieved him of his duties. This hasty action further tarnished the state government’s image.
The next hearing in this case took place on November 18 in the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court. The state government informed the Bench that the demolition notices had been withdrawn. In response, the Bench asked APCR’s lawyer, Saurabh Shankar Srivastava, about the relevance of the PIL now that the demolition action had been halted following the Supreme Court’s order.
Advocate Srivastava argued that the government had acted with vindictive intent against a specific community, and this required a judicial inquiry. He further stated that the notice for the action was issued improperly.
According to Srivastava, only the District Magistrate is the competent authority to issue such notices, but in this case, the notice was sent via the Chief Engineer of PWD. Moreover, the accused were not given adequate time to respond to the notice.
The Allahabad High Court Bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Jaspreet Singh heard the case. During the proceedings, it was revealed that the affidavit from APCR had not yet been submitted to the court record. Consequently, the Bench scheduled the next hearing for November 27.
It is noteworthy that in the previous hearing, the High Court had directed the state government to submit a detailed affidavit with comprehensive information about the matter.
With the Uttar Pradesh government officially stating in court that the demolition notice had been revoked, the threat of bulldozers razing the homes of the accused in the Bahraich violence case has been averted. This development has also exposed the malicious intent and vindictive mindset of the BJP government in targeting a particular community under the pretext of the demolition drive. As a result, the Yogi government has faced significant criticism and public backlash, forcing it onto the defensive.
