Guwahati (PTI): The Gauhati High Court has stressed that bulldozing of a house is not provided under any criminal law, even if an agency is investigating a very serious matter.
Chief Justice R M Chhaya made this observation while hearing a suo motu case taken up by the High Court regarding the demolition of the house of an accused in an arson case in Nagaon district of Assam.
The Batadrava Police Station was set on fire on May 21 by a mob following the alleged custodial death of a local fish trader, Safikul Islam (39), who had been picked up by police the night before.
A day later, the district authorities demolished at least six houses, including Islam's, using a bulldozer, purportedly in search of weapons and drugs hidden beneath the structures.
"Even if a very serious matter is being investigated by an agency, bulldozing of a house is not provided under any criminal law," Justice Chhaya observed.
Emphasizing that it requires permission to even search a house, he said, "Tomorrow if you need something, you will dig up my courtroom."
The chief justice said that nobody will be safe if pulling down anyone's house is permitted in the name of an investigation. "We are in a democratic set-up," he added.
Pointing out that one 0.9 mm pistol was recovered by demolishing the house, as submitted in the government affidavit, Chief Justice Chayya also raised apprehension that it could have been planted.
He maintained that incidents of such bulldozing of houses are done in movies, and even in those, the search warrant is shown before the act.
The chief justice equated the bulldozing of the houses to an act in a ‘gang war’ and asked the Home department to find better ways of carrying out their investigation.
"There is a purpose why 'law and order' words are used together this is not the manner in which law and order is controlled," he said in his observation on Thursday.
The matter will be heard again on December 12.
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Denver: A major accident was narrowly averted at Denver International Airport on Saturday afternoon when an American Airlines flight to Miami had to stop takeoff after its landing gear resulted in smoke and fire on the runway.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, operating as flight AA-3023, had 173 passengers on board, all of whom were safely evacuated. However, one person reportedly suffered a minor injury and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
A footage circulating online shows the moment panic-stricken passengers rushed down emergency slides while thick smoke rose from the aircraft’s left rear wheel.
🚨#BREAKING: Watch as People evacuate from a American Airlines jet after a left main wheels caught fire
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📌#Denver | #Colorado
Watch as passengers and crew evacuate American Airlines Flight 3023, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, at Denver International Airport. The Miami-bound jet was forced… pic.twitter.com/RmUrXYj5Jp
American Airlines, in a statement, said that the aircraft ‘experienced a maintenance issue’ with a tire on the landing gear just before taking off. “All customers and crew deplaned safely, and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team,” the airlines added.
The US aviation watchdog, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), is investigating the incident which led to the fire after malfunction in the landing gear.