Pinnacle court adjourns hearing on Jamiat demolition plea

A vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala fixed the date after peace officer Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, sought longer to reply to additional facts brought on record by the petitioner body.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned till July 13, the hearing on petitions by the Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind that alleged due process of law wasn't followed during the recent demolition of some private properties in Prayagraj and Kanpur in state.

A vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala fixed the date after law officer Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state government, sought longer to reply to additional facts brought on record by the petitioner body.

Mehta observed that affected individuals have since approached the Allahabad state supreme court, which, in turn, issued notice on their plea.

To a selected query from the bench, senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan appearing for the outfit said it had no objection to the matter being deferred and urged the court to repair a date after the court reopens in July.

The Jamiat has alleged that the properties were targeted within the wake of the recent riots in Kanpur-Prayagraj over remarks made by two now-suspended BJP spokespersons on Prophet Mohammed.

This was, however, denied by the state government, which said the action was “carried out by the Kanpur Development Authority and Prayagraj Development Authority strictly in accordance with the province Urban Planning and Development Act, 1972,” and “had no relevancy the riots”.