India’s top court on Thursday asked Yogi Adityanath’s state government to follow legal processes as it refused to prevent the demolition of Muslim houses after protests over remarks about the Prophet Mohammed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party in Uttar Pradesh state has been carrying out punitive demolitions of the houses of Muslim activists and protesters after demonstrations rocked the state last Friday.
“Demolitions have to be in accordance with law, they cannot be retaliatory … We can't stay demolitions. We can say go in accordance with the law,” the Supreme Court said.
The court has ordered the state government of Hindu monk-turned-politician Mr Adityanath and civic bodies to demonstrate how the demolitions were in compliance with the law and has given them three days to submit their response.
The court was hearing a petition by leading Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind which had sought a stay on the arbitrary demolitions and actions against the officials responsible.
“We should ensure safety in meantime. If this court doesn't come to rescue, that wouldn't be proper. It should look fair,” the court said.
The latest court ruling comes months after the Supreme Court halted similar demolitions in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area, where Muslim and Hindu mobs had clashed during a Hindu religious festival in April.
Hundreds of protesters had taken to the streets demanding action against Nupur Sharma and her colleague Naveen Jindal, both representatives of Mr Modi’s government, for their remarks.
They were expelled by the party and there are police cases in multiple states over hurting religious sentiments — a legal provision meant to deal with hate speech — but none of them have been arrested.
Two people were killed in a police shooting in eastern Jharkhand state and sporadic violence has been reported in several cities in Uttar Pradesh state.
But the Hindu right-wing government went on a demolition spree of Muslim houses within hours of the protests.
Authorities on Sunday flattened the two-storey house of Javed Mohammad, a local politician, after he and other family members were arrested on charges of organising the protests.
While the authorities claimed that Mr Mohammad's house was an unauthorised construction, the family said the property was legal and produced documents to support their claim. They were reportedly given an hour's notice to vacate the residence.
As many as 49 people were injured and more than 350 people were arrested in Uttar Pradesh.
Social media videos appeared to show police beating those in custody.
In several areas of Kanpur, more than 50 hoardings and photographs of alleged rioters were put up in public places for identification and subsequent arrests.
The Hindu politician has been accused of bypassing legal processes in what many say is an act of revenge against protesters and dissenters.
Bulldozers were also used to rase houses of Muslims after clashes in BJP-ruled states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat in May.
