The Supreme Court on Monday restrained the Assam government from carrying out a demolition drive in Kamrup Metropolitan district until further orders, Bar and Bench reported.

The bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan also issued notice to the state government on a contempt petition filed by the residents of Kachutali village near Sonapur town, who have been challenging their eviction from a plot of government land.

The petitioners have alleged that the district administration wilfully violated the top court’s September 17 interim order staying demolitions across the country till October 1 without its permission, Live Law reported.

This came on a batch of petitions challenging “bulldozer action” by various state governments, whereby properties of persons accused of crimes have been punitively demolished. The court’s directive did not apply to unauthorised constructions on public roads, footpaths, railway lines or public places.

On Monday, the court issued notice to the Assam government on the contempt plea filed by Kachutali residents. The petitioners have said that their homes were marked for demolition allegedly without prior intimation, Bar and Bench reported.

The eviction notice alleged that the residents were in “illegal” possession of the land and were “unauthorised” to claim the plot as it was meant for those belonging to the Scheduled Tribes, as per the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation. It ordered them to vacate the land within three days.

The residents have claimed land rights in the area through power of attorney agreements executed between their forefathers and the original landowners. The land has been with their families since the 1920s, before the area was declared as a protected tribal belt, Bar and Bench reported.

Ration cards, Aadhaar cards and voter ID cards have been provided to the petitioners based on their residency, their plea contended.

Evictions in Kachutali village

On September 9, the district authorities bulldozed nearly 240 homes, the majority of them belonging to Bengali-origin Muslims from Morigaon district. The residents had built their homes in the low-lying area over several decades.

Three days later, on September 12, the officials returned and gave them an ultimatum to vacate the land in two hours. This led to a violent clash between the residents and the officials, during which two men were shot dead by the police.

Thirty-three persons, including 22 government and police officers, were also injured in the clash.

On September 20, the Gauhati High Court stayed the eviction of several families from a plot of land in the village after the residents said that they had titles to it. The court directed the residents to prove their case before the district’s deputy commissioner.

The stay order was issued after the Assam government told the court that no action would be taken against the families till the deputy commissioner had decided on the residents’ pleas.

On September 24, the authorities bulldozed 250 more homes. These homes did not belong to the families who got the stay order from the High Court.

Meanwhile, the Goalpara district administration also carried out a demolition drive on September 24 in which 450 families, or about 2,000 persons, were evicted.

Also read: Three days after a peaceful eviction drive in Assam, why did two men die in police firing?