New Delhi: The Bombay high court on Friday (July 19), while hearing petitions from Vishalgad residents after the recent incidents of communal violence and demolitions in the area, pulled up the Maharashtra government on lawlessness in the state and asked why it was demolishing houses during monsoon.
The court was hearing petitions related to the violence that broke out at the Vishalgad Fort in Kolhapur on July 14. Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati and his supporters had marched to the fort to protest against alleged encroachments in the area after which houses, shops and a mosque in the fort’s vicinity were vandalised.
A bench of Justices Burgess Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla said if any house is demolished then the court would not hesitate to send the responsible officers to jail, LiveLaw reported.
Additional Government Pleader P.P. Kakade informed the bench that only commercial structures were being pulled down. “We aren’t even touching structures where a stay has been obtained from either this court or some other court,” Kakade added.
The court also directed Vishalgad police to appear before it after watching videos of the violence that ensued after the “Chalo Vishalgad” protest march.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.
