Two petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court, requesting directives to the Central and State governments to stop the practice of demolishing the homes or shops of individuals accused in criminal cases as an extrajudicial punitive measure.

Rashid Khan from Rajasthan and Mohammad Hussain from Madhya Pradesh have filed petitions, which were mentioned before a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan on Friday by Senior Advocate CU Singh and advocate Fauzia Shakil, seeking an urgent hearing.

Khan, a 60-year-old auto-rickshaw driver from Udaipur, stated in his application that his house was demolished by the Udaipur district administration on August 17, 2024. This demolition occurred after communal clashes erupted in Udaipur, where several vehicles were set on fire, and markets were closed following a prohibitory order. The order was issued after a Muslim schoolboy allegedly stabbed his Hindu classmate, who later succumbed to his injuries. Khan is the father of the accused schoolboy.

Khan in his application has stated that "his house has been illegally, arbitrarily, and with malafide intentions bulldozed/ demolished in a joint operation by the Regional Forest Officer, Udaipur West, Government of Rajasthan and Udaipur Municipal Corporation on 17-08-2024 in a rushed manner, for the so called illegal ‘Bulldozer/Demolition Justice’."

Similarly, Mohammad Hussain from Madhya Pradesh has claimed that his house and shop were unlawfully demolished by the State administration.

The applications were filed as part of the ongoing case initiated by Jamiat Ulama I Hind, which challenges the demolition of Muslim homes in Haryana's Nuh following the communal violence between Hindus and Muslims in the region.