New Delhi: The Gauhati high court has said that “nobody will be safe” if bulldozing anyone’s house is permitted in the name of an investigation.“Even if a very serious matter is being investigated by an agency, bulldozing of a house is not provided under any criminal law,” the high court noted.A bench of Chief Justice R.M. Chhaya and Justice Soumitra Saikia made these observations on November 17 while hearing a suo motu case regarding the demolition of the house of an accused in an arson case in Assam’s Nagaon district.The Batadrava police station was set on fire on May 21 by a mob following the alleged custodial death of a local fish trader, Safikul Islam (39), who was picked up by police the night before.A day later, the district authorities had demolished at least six houses, including Islam’s, using a bulldozer purportedly in search of weapons and drugs hidden beneath the structures.According to the Times of India, the high court sought to know if any prior permission was sought for the action, to which the state counsel replied that it was for a search of the houses.Expressing shock over the response, Justice Chhaya said: “This [action] is unheard of, at least with my limited career. I have not come across a police officer using bulldozer by way of a search warrant.”Also read: ‘How Will I Study’: Victim’s Family Bears the Brunt of Contradictory Claims in Nagaon ViolenceEmphasising that it requires permission to even search a house, he said, “Tomorrow if you need something, you will dig up my courtroom.”The chief justice said that nobody will be safe if pulling down anyone’s house is permitted in the name of an investigation. “We are in a democratic set-up,” he added.“There is a purpose why ‘law and order’ words are used together. This is not the manner in which law and order is controlled,” he said.Pointing out that one 0.9 mm pistol was recovered by demolishing the house, as submitted in the government affidavit, Chief Justice Chhaya also raised apprehension that it could have been planted.The matter will be next heard on December 12.(With inputs from PTI)
