Indian SC refuses to stop razing of Muslims’ homes

NEW DELHI: India's top court Thursday refused to stop the government from bulldozing houses after the authorities razed several homes of Muslims in an alleged retaliatory action against the minority community for holding violent protests.

"We cannot stay demolitions," the court said, hearing a petition by a Muslim group against bringing down illegally-constructed residential complexes. "Demolitions have to be in accordance with law, they cannot be retaliatory," the Supreme Court said, responding to a case brought by Muslims in Uttar Pradesh who allege the state government has been punishing members of India's 200-million-strong Islamic minority for participating in protests.

Protests erupted in several states on June 10 over blasphemous remarks made by senior members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hardline political party. The demonstrators, mostly Muslims, demanded the arrest of Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal, the officials of the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) who made the remarks. Both of them were fired by the party.

Indian police have demolished as many as 45 houses belonging to Muslims under the pretext of illegal construction. The local people said the officials have started razing the houses and properties belonging to Muslims after holding them responsible for involvement in the riots.

Muslims in India are not facing such a situation for the first time as the history is replete with such incidents of state-sponsored persecution of Muslims particularly in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Delhi and Gujarat.

One of the demolished homes, in the state's Prayagraj district, belonged to the father of Afreen Fatima, a prominent student activist. Her father, local politician Javed Mohammad, has been accused of planning the protests, some of which did turn violent.

Police in Uttar Pradesh have arrested more protesters since the demolitions, taking a total of 357 people into custody, according to a report by The Times of India. Some of those families have voiced concern that their homes could still be destroyed under the Uttar Pradesh government's practice, which has been dubbed "bulldozer justice."

The Supreme Court asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file a response to the allegations by June 21, when it will hear the case again. The court said it would not stop the demolitions in the meantime, rejecting the residents demand for an interim stay and raising the prospect of more demolitions in the coming days. "We can't stay demolitions. We can say go in accordance with law," said Supreme Court justices A.S. Bopanna and Vikram Nath in their Thursday statement.

"Everything should look fair... we expect the authorities to act only in accordance with law," added one of the judges. The court petitioners allege the demolitions were "illegal… shocking and appalling," and they're seeking legal action against government officials who ordered the homes to be razed.

Earlier this week, several former judges and senior legal advocates wrote a joint letter to the Chief Justice of India urging him to take note of the "brutal clampdown" and "violation of the rights of citizens." India faced a huge diplomatic backlash earlier this month from at least 15 majority-Muslim countries — including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Iran, and Oman — over the ruling party officials' remarks against Islam's prophet. Many of these countries logged official protests with India, and there were calls from officials in two Gulf states to boycott Indian products.

Prime Minister Modi's Hindu nationalist government has been accused of deliberately trying to marginalise the country's Muslims through controversial legislation and other moves. Modi and other members of his party vehemently deny allegations that they're fuelling sectarianism.

Amnesty International, meanwhile, said India must immediately end a vicious crackdown on Muslims who took to the streets to protest against the ruling party official's remarks. Authorities were “selectively and viciously cracking down on Muslims who dare to speak up … against the discrimination faced by them,” Amnesty International’s Aakar Patel said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Cracking down on protesters with excessive use of force, arbitrary detention and punitive house demolitions … is in complete violation of India’s commitments under international human rights law.”