Goalpara home demolitions unauthorised, says Gauhati HC

Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has held that the demolition of homes belonging to 73 Muslim families in Assam’s Goalpara district appeared to be unauthorised, saying the residents were not given a proper opportunity to respond before the action was taken.

The houses, reportedly built on the families’ private agricultural land, were demolished by the Goalpara district administration on September 7. The residents had been served notices only two days earlier, on September 5, directing them to remove the structures within 24 hours or face legal action.

The notices referred to the settlement rules under the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886, and provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Twenty-one residents challenged the notices before the High Court, arguing that the administration had not allowed them to present their case before demolishing their homes.

During the hearing, the court referred to the Assam Agricultural Land (Regulation of Reclassification and Transfer for Non-Agricultural Purpose) Act, 2015. The law states that permission is not required to use up to one bigha of agricultural land to build one’s own house, provided the structure does not exceed two storeys.

The court observed that the action of the Matia circle officer appeared, prima facie, to be illegal and unauthorised and contrary to the principles of natural justice protected under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

“It is absolutely unthinkable in the present day when there are galore of settled principles that such notices were issued in this manner without providing even an opportunity to the petitioners,” the court said.

It also questioned the administration’s decision to invoke emergency powers, noting that the notices did not indicate any immediate danger requiring the drastic step of demolishing homes on private land.

The court directed the authorities to explain what imminent danger had justified the demolition. In its September 11 order, it said the material submitted by the administration did not establish any such emergency.

The court further observed that the action appeared, at first glance, to be a misuse of the Disaster Management Act.

The demolition drive has drawn wider attention because several eviction operations carried out in Assam since the BJP came to power in 2016 have affected areas largely inhabited by Bengali-speaking Muslims.