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The Supreme Court has transferred a batch of contempt petitions and related writ petitions alleging violations of its November 13, 2024, judgement on the demolition of structures to the respective High Courts, saying the cases involve disputed facts that require detailed examination and evidence.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana directed the concerned High Courts to examine whether the demolitions were carried out in violation of the Supreme Court's directions. The Court requested the High Courts to decide the cases as quickly as possible, preferably within four months. The Bench noted that the petitioners claimed their properties were demolished without following the principles of natural justice and in violation of the law. The authorities, however, argued that proper procedure had been followed and that the action was taken against illegal constructions or encroachments on public land. Since these issues involve disputed facts, the Supreme Court said they should be decided by the jurisdictional High Courts after examining records and, if necessary, recording evidence through district courts. The Court also ordered that the interim protection granted earlier to the petitioners would continue while the matters are pending before the High Courts. At the same time, it allowed the parties to approach the High Courts for any modification of the interim orders. The Bench clarified that it had not expressed any opinion on the merits of the allegations made by either side. The Supreme Court said the High Courts would also examine whether its November 13, 2024 directions had been violated and whether the actions of the authorities amounted to contempt of court. It permitted the parties to file additional documents and affidavits before the High Courts and also allowed them to pursue other legal remedies, if advised. In a connected matter, the Supreme Court partly allowed an appeal filed by Imroz Khan after finding that the Madhya Pradesh High Court had dismissed contempt proceedings on the mistaken assumption that the authorities were unaware of the Supreme Court's earlier judgement. Setting aside the High Court's order, the Bench sent the matter back for fresh consideration. The Supreme Court directed the Madhya Pradesh High Court to decide whether the disputed land is public or private property, whether the construction is authorised or unauthorised, and, if it is unauthorised, whether the demolition was carried out by following the legal procedure. The connected contempt petition has also been transferred to the High Court, which has been requested to decide both matters together within three months. The Court also disposed of some connected cases. It allowed Advocate SS Kazi to withdraw Contempt Petition No. 610 of 2025. Writ Petition (Civil) No. 340 of 2022 and Contempt Petition (Diary No. 13431 of 2022) were dismissed as not pressed after Senior Advocate MR Shamshad said the petitioners did not wish to pursue them. Applications in Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 162 of 2022 were also withdrawn with liberty to approach the concerned High Court at the request of Senior Advocate CU Singh. The appeal was mentioned before the Bench by Senior Advocate S Muralidhar, following which the Court agreed to take it up, granted leave and partly allowed the appeal. Among those appearing in the matter were Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal, Huzefa Ahmadi, Sanjay R Hegde, Salman Khurshid, MR Shamshad, CU Singh and IH Syed. The respondents and governments were represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, Additional Solicitors General KM Nataraj, Aishwarya Bhati and Anil Kaushik, Advocate-on-Record Shrirang Bharat Varma, Advocate Harshvardhan Mall Vishen, and several other counsel. (ANI)
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