New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Rajasthan authorities to respond to a plea for contempt action for allegedly razing a property in Jaisalmer in an illegal manner.

When the plea came up for hearing before a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih, it agreed to hear the matter and sought a response from the authorities.

The petitioner claimed that the authority demolished his property illegally in “utter contempt” of the apex court’s directions in its November 13, 2024 judgement.

The top court laid down pan-India guidelines and barred demolition of properties without a prior showcause notice and 15 days’ time to the aggrieved party to respond.

The case at hand was posted for hearing after four weeks.

The plea, filed through advocate Anas Tanwir, alleged the authority disregarded the apex court’s verdict and orchestrated an illegal demolition of the petitioner’s property in Jaisalmer on January 22.

“Petitioner’s ownership over the said property is judicially established and beyond dispute having been recognised by a compromise deed and decree of the district judge, Jaisalmer, dated November 19, 2013,” the plea said.

The demolition, the plea claimed, was without a valid notice or due process and in direct violation of the apex court’s directions.

“The demolition was not an administrative lapse but a calculated act of defiance, setting a dangerous precedent whereby government officials brazenly disregarded this court’s orders with impunity,” it added.

The apex court in its November 2024 verdict said the directions wouldn’t apply to unauthorised structures in a public spaces such as roads, streets, footpaths, abutting railway lines or a river or water bodies apart from cases where there was a court order for demolition.

“No demolition should be carried out without a prior showcause notice returnable either in accordance with the time provided by the local municipal laws or within 15 days time from the date of service of such notice, whichever is later,” the verdict said.

The judgment came on petitions asking for guidelines on demolition of properties. PTI ABA ABA AMK AMK