Deconstructing ‘Bulldozer Justice’ | Arup Kumar Sen

Very recently (April 1, 2025), the Supreme Court characterized as “inhuman and illegal” the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to demolish the homes of six families in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) with bulldozers on March 7, 2021. All the six petitioners are residents of Lukerganj in Allahabad. It is to be noted in this connection that two of the petitioners identified in the Court belong to the Muslim community, one an advocate, and, the other a college professor (The Telegraph, April 2, 2025). What was the logic behind the demolition (as argued by the petitioners in the Court)? To put it in the words of The Telegraph (ibid.): “The petitioners argued in the court that they were the rightful owners of the houses and had been residing there for decades. They said the local authorities demolished the properties on the wrong presumption that they belonged to gangster turned politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed who were killed in April 2023 allegedly by rival gang members while being taken by police for a medical check-up.”

The views of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, on ‘bulldozer justice’ demand special attention. He said that “bulldozer justice” his government had started “was a necessity, not an achievement.” He warned against illegal activities and said that his government would resort to “bulldozer justice” (See ibid.). It is doubtful whether ‘justice’ will be delivered to the victims of ‘bulldozer justice’, following the Supreme Court verdict in this perspective. We may recall in this context the observations made in a piece carried in The Wire (May 30, 2024), bearing the title “Bulldozers in the Modi Decade: A Symbol of Quick ‘Justice’ and Collective Punishment”: “From demolitions following communal riots, to forced evictions over allegations of encroachment, ‘bulldozer justice’ has defined justice delivery in the Modi years…Legal recourse has done little to stop such actions.” (m.thewire.in)
It should be noted in this context that the members of the minority community are the special targets of ‘bulldozer justice’. The Amnesty International drew our attention to this fact in its reports (February 7, 2024): “India’s widespread unlawful demolitions of Muslims’ homes, businesses and places of worship through the use of JCB bulldozers and other machines must stop immediately.” (www.amnesty.org)

In fact, ‘bulldozer justice’ has emerged as an organic part of the anti-Muslim agenda of the BJP regime.