Supreme Court to Review Contempt Petition Against Assam Authorities Over Evictions
Supreme Court Takes Action on Eviction Controversy
On Thursday, the Supreme Court agreed to examine a contempt petition directed at the chief secretary of Assam and officials from Goalpara district. This petition addresses alleged breaches of the court's previous directives concerning eviction and demolition operations that took place in June.
A bench comprising Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran issued notices to the chief secretary and other relevant officials, requesting their responses within a two-week timeframe.
During the proceedings, Advocate Sanjay Hegde, representing the petitioners, informed the court that eviction notices were served to residents of Hasilabeel village just two days prior to the demolition of their homes.
He emphasized that even individuals accused of encroaching on government land deserve to follow due legal processes.
“These are 667 impoverished families who have resided on that land for 60 to 70 years,” he stated, noting that many had to relocate to higher ground due to changes in the Brahmaputra river's course.
The petitioners argued that the eviction actions disproportionately affected a minority community while leaving similarly situated individuals from the majority community unharmed.
When Hegde sought interim relief in the form of maintaining the status quo, the court warned that any relief granted would not apply if the demolitions involved government property.
The petition references a Supreme Court ruling from November, which deemed the demolition of properties belonging to individuals accused of crimes as a punitive measure illegal. It also stated that proper procedures must be adhered to before removing alleged illegal encroachments.
However, the ruling clarified that these guidelines would not extend to unauthorized structures on public land, such as roads, riverbanks, and railway lines.
The contempt petition was filed by eight residents of Hasilabeel village in Goalpara, who assert they have lived in the area for over sixty years and possess valid voter ID, PAN, and Aadhaar cards.
According to the petition, demolitions commenced following an undated notice issued by a circle officer on June 13, which allowed only two days for residents to vacate land reportedly allocated to the Assam Fisheries Development Corporation in 2015.
The residents claimed that the authorities communicated eviction notices through public announcements rather than providing individual notifications.
On June 16, district officials in Goalpara demolished the homes of 690 families in Hasilabeel, followed by a second eviction drive on July 12, which affected an additional 1,080 families in the Paikan Reserve Forest.
Data from the state revenue and disaster management department indicates that between 2016 and August 2024, over 10,620 families, predominantly Muslim, have been evicted from government land.