Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday issued an adamant order stopping bulldozer activity in the areas of Nuh and Gurugram that have seen communal violence, and it questioned if structures belonging to one group were being demolished on the pretext of a law-and-order crisis. The court also alluded to ethnic cleansing in its warning to the Haryana government.“The issue also arises whether the buildings belonging to a particular community are being brought down under the guise of law-and-order problem, and an exercise of ethnic cleansing is being conducted by the State,” the order said.The court also referred to the statement of Anil Vij, the home minister of Haryana which said, The bulldozer action is the part of treatment for the people involved in the clashes.”“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” the court quoted Lord Acton in its order issuing notice to the state government.Meanwhile, the court has ordered the government to furnish an affidavit as to how many buildings have been demolished in Nuh and Gurugram and whether the notice was served to the people before action.According to the updates, almost 350 shanties and over 50 concrete structures have been demolished in the action so far. However, after the high courts order on Monday, the action has been stopped.
