GUWAHATI: A resident of Malvan in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district has moved the Supreme Court seeking contempt of court proceedings against civic authorities for the demolition of his house and shop, allegedly done after his 15-year-old son purportedly shouted an anti-India slogan during the India-Pakistan Champions Trophy match.
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A bench of Justices B R Gavai and A G Masih issued notice to the chief officer and administrator of the Malvan Municipal Council in this regard, on Monday, March 24.
According to reports, Kitabullah Hamidulla Khan, a 40-year-old scrap dealer, moved the Supreme Court claiming it was done in violation of the apex court's ruling against 'bulldozer justice'. The match was played between the two teams in Dubai on February 23, and an FIR was registered against the boy's family on the same night, with the complainant alleging he had shouted anti-India slogans during the match.
Khan alleged that he, his wife and minor son were taken to a police station in Malvan at midnight and locked up. Though the boy was allowed to go after four to five hours, Khan and his wife remained in police custody for two days till February 25 when they were granted bail by the judicial magistrate, who noted in an order there was nothing on record which prima facie shows the alleged act of the accused person was detrimental to the nation's integration.
The petitioner alleged people were mobilised by the local MLA, and local authority was pressured to undertake the demolition exercise, which was done a day after the match on February 24 in the presence of many people. The authority demolished the petitioner's tin-shed shop and house on the alleged ground of it being an "illegal structure".
