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The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Maharashtra civic authority on a petition seeking initiation of contempt proceedings for demolishing a house and shop in Sindhudurg district over alleged 'anti-India' slogan during a recent cricket match between India and Pakistan in Champions Trophy 2025.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih sought a response from the Maharashtra authority and posted the matter for hearing after four weeks. The petition has alleged violation of the Supreme Court's November 13, 2024 verdict restraining demolition actions across the country without prior notice and opportunity of hearing. The petitioner claimed that the demolition was conducted by the authorities after a "frivolous complaint" was filed about alleged raising of an anti-India slogan by his 14-year-old son during a cricket match played between India and Pakistan in Dubai on February 23. Kitabullah Hamidulla Khan, a 40-year-old scrap dealer, said an FIR was registered against his family, and his wife and minor son were taken to a police station in Malvan at midnight and locked up. He said though the boy was allowed to go after 4-5 hours, Khan and his wife remained in police custody for two days till February 25 when they were granted bail by the judicial magistrate. The magistrate noted in an order there was nothing on record which prima facie shows the alleged act of the accused person was detrimental to the nation's integration, he said. The petitioner alleged people were mobilised by the local MLA, and local authority was pressured to undertake the demolition exercise, which was done a day after the match on February 24 in the presence of many people. The authority demolished the petitioner's tin-shed shop and house on the alleged ground of it being an illegal structure, he said. The action of the civic authorities was arbitrary, illegal and malafide, and done in violation of the Supreme Court's direction issued last year, said the petitioner urging the apex court to initiate contempt proceedings. On November 13 last year, the top court delivered a judgement and laid down pan-India guidelines saying no property should be demolished without a prior show cause notice and the affected must be given 15 days to respond. It passed a slew of directions in its November 2024 verdict and made clear that they would not be applicable if there was an unauthorised structure in a public place such as road, street, footpath, abutting railway line or any river or water bodies and also in cases where there was an order for demolition made by a court of law. (ANI)
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