Rebuild riot accused home: HC to NMC

Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Thursday asked Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) whether it would rebuild the bulldozed house of Fahim Khan, the prime accused in the March 17 Nagpur riots or pay compensation. Communal violence rocked the Mahal area of Nagpur following alleged inflammatory remarks linked to Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb's tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.After noting a prima facie failure to follow mandatory legal procedure by Supreme Court, a division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Raj Wakode raised the query while hearing a petition filed by Khan's 69-year-old mother, Mehrunissa Shamim Khan, and other accused. The bench directed the civic body to clearly state its position before the next hearing scheduled for March 4.
The three-storied Sanjaybagh Colony residence of Khan, 38, city president of Minority Democratic Party, was demolished with bulldozers on March 25 last year, days after his arrest. During an urgent hearing on his mother's plea at the time, a bench led by Justice Nitin Sambre stayed the demolition, but by then the structure was razed.The court noted the procedure mandated by Supreme Court — issuing prior notice and granting 15 days for a response before removing an allegedly unauthorised structure — was not followed. "Prima facie, the demolition appears to be carried out without adhering to the mandated process," the bench verbally observed, while asking whether the municipal corporation would reconstruct the house or offer monetary compensation.Appearing for Khan, counsel Ashwin Ingole argued the demolition notices issued on March 21, 2025, under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act violated the November 13, 2024, Supreme Court ruling delivered by a bench led by former Chief Justice Bhushan Gavai, which barred demolitions solely because a resident was accused in a criminal case. "The apex court categorically held that no property can be demolished merely because an individual related to the owner is an accused," he contended, describing the civic action as "arbitrary and unconstitutional".The petitioner further submitted the property had all required permissions and payments made to civic authorities as early as 2003, and that no objections were raised for over 2 decades, making the sudden demolition legally questionable.In a previous hearing last year, municipal commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari had tendered an unconditional apology before the court, admitting officials were unaware of Supreme Court's safeguards on demolitions linked to criminal allegations.Khan, who contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against Union minister Nitin Gadkari and secured about 1,000 votes, maintained his innocence throughout, claiming the allegations were fabricated. Of the 120-odd arrested in the riots case, a majority were granted bail or anticipatory bail.