What is Article 142: The Supreme Court gave an important decision on Wednesday (13 November) regarding the bulldozer action. The court said that no government can take bulldozer action as per its wish. Before taking action, a notice will have to be given explaining why and how the property against which action is being taken is illegal. Besides, information about the action should also be given to the district administration.
Not only this, the court also said that if a house or building has been demolished due to wrong action, then compensation should also be given and action can be taken against the government official. The court said that someone’s house cannot be demolished just because he is involved in a criminal case or is an accused or is guilty. The bulldozer action taken without following the law is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court said that instructions can be issued to the executive to protect fundamental rights and to realize statutory rights.
Supreme Court gave this order under Article 142
Article 142 of the Indian Constitution gives discretionary power to the court. In fact, the Supreme Court can give its decision to do justice in those cases in which the law has not been made yet. Not only regarding the bulldozer action, but earlier also in some special cases of divorce, the court had given its decision on the basis of Article 142.
Since the 90s, many such cases have come to light in which Article 142 gave special power to the Supreme Court. Taking this as the basis, whenever the court gives a decision, special care is taken to ensure that no one else is harmed by that decision. Article 142 gives the Supreme Court the power to do complete justice between two parties.
Article 142 has been criticized
However, it has also been criticized many times. It was argued that the court has wide discretion but it can be misused arbitrarily to dispense justice. Constitutional experts believe that the Supreme Court follows some important principles while using it. Judicial restraint and activism are prominent among these.
