India’s top court extends pause on demolition of private properties without its approval

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - India’s top court on Tuesday extended its earlier order, which had paused “bulldozer actions,” barring demolition of properties without its permission.

The Supreme Court said it will lay down guidelines for all citizens on the issue of demolition of properties in the country.

A bench of the Supreme Court reserved its verdict while hearing the case in which petitioners challenged the "bulldozer actions" in several states, where the properties of several Muslims, among others, were targeted.

"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," the local Press Trust of India news agency quoted Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan as saying.

It also added it will not protect any unauthorized constructions on public roads, government lands, or forests.

During the hearing, one of the lawyers urged the bench to extend its interim order. “It is there till we decide this matter,” the bench said.

Last month, the Supreme Court clarified that the order would not be applicable to encroachments on public roads, footpaths, and railway lines. The ​​​​​order was implemented until Oct. 1.

Last week, a lawyer claimed a 1,000-year-old shrine was among structures razed to the ground by the administration in the Gir Somnath district of western Gujarat state.

The drive took place near the Hindu Somnath Temple in the state for which hundreds of police personnel were deployed.