Nagpur, Apr 16: The Nagpur municipal chief has tendered an unconditional apology in the Bombay High Court for the demolition of houses of accused in a riots case and said civic officials were unaware of the Supreme Court’s guidelines on razing of properties.
Also, no circular has been received by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation from the Maharashtra government about the apex court’s guidelines, NMC commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari said in an affidavit filed before the HC’s Nagpur bench on Tuesday.
The civic officials were unaware of the Supreme Court’s order, which mandates procedural safeguards before demolishing properties linked to the riots accused, he stated in the affidavit.
A division bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and Vrushali Joshi granted two weeks to the Maharashtra government for a response in the matter.
Violence occurred in parts of Nagpur on March 17 following rumours about a ‘chadar’ with holy inscriptions being burnt during protests led by VHP seeking the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.
On March 24, the HC’s Nagpur bench ordered a stay on the demolition of the houses of Fahim Khan, a key accused in the violence case who has been charged with sedition, and other accused, rapping the administration for “high-handedness”.
While Khan’s two-storey house was razed before the HC passed the order in the afternoon of March 24, authorities halted the demolition of the ‘illegal’ portions of the other accused Yusuf Sheikh’s house following the court’s directive.
The duo had moved the high court earlier that day against the demolition seeking an urgent hearing.
“I am tendering my unconditional apology to the court, to have made this court to observe that the respondent authorities have conducted the demolition of the petitioner’s unauthorised construction in contravention of the judgement of the Supreme Court of India,” Chaudhari said in the affidavit.
The commissioner said he enquired into the matter and found that the town planning department was also not aware of the SC’s decision.
Also, no circular has been received from the state of Maharashtra about guidelines of the SC, which had directed all the chief secretaries of the states and Union Territories to issue circulars to all the district magistrates and local authorities, intimating them about the directions issued by the apex court, he said.
As on date, no such circular has been received by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, the civic chief said in the affidavit.
Hence, the guidelines in terms of the SC judgement could not be circulated to the NMC’s zonal officers and hence, they continued to follow the respective statutory provisions, he said.
Some of the actions have been done in contravention of the apex court directions, however, the same has not been done intentionally but done for want of knowledge, Chaudhari said.
The NMC and its officers have not acted with a malafide intention against the petitioners and their property, but acted in accordance to the prevailing situation and statutory provisions of the Slum Act, 1971.
However, for want of knowledge and any circular to that effect, neither the competent authority nor zonal officers could comply with the Supreme Court’s directions, he said. (PTI)
