The Haryana government on Friday asserted in the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the demolition drive in Muslim-dominated areas of Nuh district was not a case of “ethnic cleansing” and that due procedure, according to the law, was followed.
Earlier this week, the court had taken suo motu cognisance and halted the demolition drive in Nuh and Gurugram districts, asking the Haryana government whether any notice was issued before the demolitions. The government had claimed that it was demolishing “illegally-constructed” buildings following communal violence.
The matter came up for hearing before the Division Bench of Justices Arun Palli and Jagmohan Bansal. During the hearing, Haryana’s Additional Advocate-General Deepak Sabharwal informed the court that during the demolition in Nuh and Gurugram all due procedures established under the law were followed, and rejected the contention that it was an exercise in “ethnic cleansing”.
