In a scathing rebuke, the Supreme Court on Wednesday condemned the Uttar Pradesh government for demolishing the homes of a lawyer, a professor, and three others in Prayagraj, calling the action “shocking” and a blatant violation of legal procedures.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and N Kotishwar Singh made it clear that such demolitions set a dangerous precedent. “This sends a shocking and wrong signal, and it must be corrected,” the court observed.
When the state’s counsel attempted to justify the demolitions by citing procedural grounds, the court was unimpressed. “We know how to deal with such hyper-technical arguments,” Justice Oka shot back. “You are taking such drastic action—demolishing homes—one of which belonged to a lawyer, another to a professor. What about Article 21 and the Right to Shelter?”
The case involved five petitioners whose homes, all located on the same plot, were razed in March 2021. Their plea to halt the demolition was earlier dismissed by the Allahabad High Court. The petitioners argued that they were served notices late on a Saturday night, only to have their homes demolished the following day.
Their counsel revealed a stunning detail: the state mistakenly believed their land belonged to gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed, who was killed in a police encounter in 2023. “They should just admit their mistake,” the lawyer argued.
The Attorney General, defending the government, insisted that sufficient notice was given. But the court wasn’t convinced. “Why was the notice simply affixed instead of properly served? This is a high-handed case of demolition,” Justice Oka remarked.
The government suggested sending the case back to the High Court for review, but the Supreme Court flatly refused. “No more delays. This structure will have to be rebuilt,” the bench ruled. The court left the government with two choices: file an affidavit contesting the reconstruction or allow the petitioners to rebuild their homes and serve them notices properly.
With that, the state was left scrambling for a response as the Supreme Court made it clear—due process cannot be bulldozed.
