HC rejects plea seeking direction to MP govt to stop demolition of properties of accused, suspects

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking a direction to the BJP government in the state to furnish details of the cases, where the police allegedly demolished houses or structures of the accused or suspects in different cases without the authority of law.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking a direction to the BJP government in the state to furnish details of the cases, where the police allegedly demolished houses or structures of the accused or suspects in different cases ''without the authority of law''. The petition had also sought a direction to the government not to carry out such demolition action. The state government has been pulling down the properties of persons accused of rape, violence or other offences. Recently, the district administration in Khargone carried out a drive, in which it razed the houses of the suspected riot accused. In its order, a division bench of Chief Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice P K Kaurav said, ''We are of the considered view that it may not be appropriate to entertain this petition as a public interest litigation.'' ''Even if the case of the petitioner is to be accepted that certain houses of certain persons have been demolished, necessarily those persons have a legal right to defend themselves and their properties in a manner known to law,'' it said.

''We do not see any nexus with the petitioner and the persons whose properties have been demolished. Therefore, it is for those persons to appropriately move the court for necessary order as they deem fit,'' the court order said.

''We do not find any reason to entertain this petition on behalf of the present petitioner,'' the court order said.

Accordingly, the petition is dismissed, it added.

Advocate Amitabh Gupta filed this petition seeking direction to the state government to bring records of the cases, wherein the state police has demolished houses or other structures belonging to the accused and suspects without the authority of law.

The petition further sought direction to the government to not take any such action as complained in the body of the petition without authority of law, Gupta said.

The state government and the state Director General of Police were respondents in the petition.