UP demolitions 'collective, extra judicial' punishment, Apex Court 'must intervene'

By Bharat Dogra*
A letter released on June 14 and sent to the Supreme Court by former law minister Shanti Bhushan, six former judges, some senior advocates and legal luminaries has termed the recent repressive actions against protestors, including demolitions, in Uttar Pradesh “illegal.”

Shanti Bhushan was law minister during 1977-79 and had worked closely with the most senior BJP leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani who were then his Cabinet colleagues.
In a separate observation, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh Justice Govind Mathur has also called the demolition action completely illegal. Govind Mathur has a very high reputation and his opinion is valued very highly in legal circles, not just in Uttar Pradesh but all over the country.
In a reference to the demolition of the house belonging to the wife of a leader of the Welfare Party, Javed Mohammad, on June 12, Justice Mathur said, “This is totally illegal. Even if you assume for a moment that the construction was illegal, which by the way is how crores of Indians live, it is impermissible that you demolish a house on Sunday when the residents are in custody. It is not a technical question but a question of rule of law.”
Subsequently, in another interview he stated that those who suffer heavily in such illegal actions are entitled to receive compensation for the loss suffered by them.
The letter by Shanti Bhushan, which has been signed by former judges B Sudarshan Reddy, V Gopala Gowda and AK Ganguly (of the Supreme Court) and AP Shah, K Chandru and Mohammed Anwar (various High Courts) has appealed to the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognizance of the recent acts of bulldozing of residences of protestors, particularly in Prayagraj ( UP). The letter says instead of giving protestors a hearing, the UP administration appears to have sanctioned violence against them.
This letter says:

“Videos of young men in police custody being beaten with lathis, houses of protestors being demolished without notice or any cause of action, and protestors from the minority Muslim community being chased and beaten by the police, are circulating on social media, shaking the conscience of the nation.

"Such a brutal clampdown by a ruling administration is an unacceptable subversion of the rule of law… It is a violation of the rights of citizens, and makes a mockery of the Constitution and fundamental rights guaranteed by the State.”
The letter states, “The coordinated manner in which the police and development authorities have acted leads to the clear conclusion that demolitions are a form of collective extra judicial punishment attributable to a state policy which is illegal.”
These observations of former senior judges, senior advocates and the former law minister are extremely important and one hopes that these result in further legal actions to protect basic rights of people and ensure justice to them.
---
*Honorary convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now; recent books include ‘A Day in 2071’, ‘Man over Machine' and ‘Planet in Peril'

Comments

From plagiarism to proxy exams: Galgotias and systemic failure in education

By Sandeep Pandey* Shock is being expressed at Galgotias University being found presenting a Chinese-made robotic dog and a South Korean-made soccer-playing drone as its own creations at the recently held India AI Impact Summit 2026, a global event in New Delhi. Earlier, a UGC-listed journal had published a paper from the university titled “Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis,” which became the subject of widespread ridicule. Following the robotic dog controversy coming to light, the university has withdrawn the paper. These incidents are symptoms of deeper problems afflicting the Indian education system in general. Galgotias merely bit off more than it could chew.

Covishield controversy: How India ignored a warning voice during the pandemic

Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD * It is a matter of pride for us that a person of Indian origin, presently Director of National Institute of Health, USA, is poised to take over one of the most powerful roles in public health. Professor Jay Bhattacharya, an Indian origin physician and a health economist, from Stanford University, USA, will be assuming the appointment of acting head of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA. Bhattacharya would be leading two apex institutions in the field of public health which not only shape American health policies but act as bellwether globally.

The 'glass cliff' at Galgotias: How a university’s AI crisis became a gendered blame game

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan* “She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information.” These were the words used in the official press release by Galgotias University following the controversy at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi. The statement came across as defensive, petty, and deeply insensitive.

Farewell to Saleem Samad: A life devoted to fearless journalism

By Nava Thakuria* Heartbreaking news arrived from Dhaka as the vibrant city lost one of its most active and committed citizens with the passing of journalist, author and progressive Bangladeshi national Saleem Samad. A gentleman who always had issues to discuss with anyone, anywhere and at any time, he passed away on 22 February 2026 while undergoing cancer treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He was 74.

Growth without justice: The politics of wealth and the economics of hunger

By Vikas Meshram* In modern history, few periods have displayed such a grotesque and contradictory picture of wealth as the present. On one side, a handful of individuals accumulate in a single year more wealth than the annual income of entire nations. On the other, nearly every fourth person in the world goes to bed hungry or half-fed.

From ancient wisdom to modern nationhood: The Indian story

By Syed Osman Sher South of the Himalayas lies a triangular stretch of land, spreading about 2,000 miles in each direction—a world of rare magic. It has fired the imagination of wanderers, settlers, raiders, traders, conquerors, and colonizers. They entered this country bringing with them new ethnicities, cultures, customs, religions, and languages.

Thali, COVID and academic credibility: All about the 2020 'pseudoscientific' Galgotias paper

By Jag Jivan* The first page image of the paper "Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis" published in the Journal of Molecular Pharmaceuticals and Regulatory Affairs , Vol. 2, Issue 2 (2020), has gone viral on social media in the wake of the controversy surrounding a Chinese robot presented by the Galgotias University as its original product at the just-concluded AI summit in Delhi . The resurfacing of the 2020 publication, authored by Dharmendra Kumar , Galgotias University, has reignited debate over academic standards and scientific credibility.

Conversion laws and national identity: A Jesuit response response to the Hindutva narrative

By Rajiv Shah A recent book, " Luminous Footprints: The Christian Impact on India ", authored by two Jesuit scholars, Dr. Lancy Lobo and Dr. Denzil Fernandes , seeks to counter the current dominant narrative on Indian Christians , which equates evangelisation with conversion, and education, health and the social services provided by Christians as meant to lure -- even force -- vulnerable sections into Christianity.

Sergei Vasilyevich Gerasimov, the artist who survived Stalin's cultural purges

By Harsh Thakor* Sergei Vasilyevich Gerasimov (September 14, 1885 – April 20, 1964) was a Soviet artist, professor, academician, and teacher. His work was posthumously awarded the Lenin Prize, the highest artistic honour of the USSR. His paintings traced the development of socialist realism in the visual arts while retaining qualities drawn from impressionism. Gerasimov reconciled a lyrical approach to nature with the demands of Soviet socialist ideology.

Search This Blog