By Maktoob
The Supreme Court has granted interim protection against the proposed demolition of 25 houses belonging to Muslim families in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district, where the administration initiated bulldozer action following an alleged cattle slaughter case and a campaign by Hindutva organisations demanding punitive action.
The apex court directed that no demolition shall take place until it considers a Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging an order of the Jabalpur Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court permitting the demolition of the houses.
Although the matter is yet to be formally listed before the Supreme Court, the Court has directed that no demolition shall take place until it takes up the petition for consideration.
As a result, the proposed demolition of all 25 residential houses has been halted for the time being, providing immediate relief to the affected families, who were facing the imminent threat of losing their homes.
The petition was filed by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), which said it immediately initiated legal proceedings before the Supreme Court following the High Court’s order to protect the affected families.
According to APCR, its legal team comprising Advocates Nizam Pasha, Ahmad Ibrahim, Kabeer Paul, Awstika Das, and Advocate-on-Record Lzafeer Ahmed BF prepared the Special Leave Petition on an emergency basis on Thursday and filed it before the Supreme Court on Friday under the Court’s urgent filing procedure.
APCR said it would continue to represent the affected families before the Supreme Court while seeking appropriate relief in accordance with the law.
The case stems from a police investigation into an alleged cattle slaughter incident in Etwa tehsil, in which nine persons were booked, including one man who was detained under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).
Following a campaign by members of Hindutva organisations, who blocked the Mundi Highway on June 20 demanding action against those accused in the alleged cattle slaughter case, the district administration demolished some structures and issued demolition notices to several other Muslim families.
According to APCR, it first approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court on behalf of the affected residents after the demolition drive began. The High Court had earlier stayed the demolition of four houses in the first batch of petitions. After fresh notices were issued to 47 more families, APCR again moved the High Court on behalf of 34 families, following which interim protection was extended, bringing the total number of protected houses to 38.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com.
