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According to Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, the demolition was done without prior notice. “It is evident that demolition was done in an oppressive manner and without legal authority.”
The Supreme Court ruled today that homes cannot be demolished overnight and that families must be given time to leave, criticising the Uttar Pradesh government for tearing down homes without following the proper procedures.
The bench, chaired by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, was hearing a 2020 suo motu case. The case was based on a letter written by Manoj Tibrewal Aakash, whose house was demolished in 2019. According to the petitioner, his house was demolished without warning because it was allegedly intruding on a highway.
Additionally, this is happening while a different bench of the highest court reviews petitions contesting “bulldozer justice,” a term used to refer to the destruction of criminal defendants’ property.
The demolition in this case was done without any notice, according to the Chief Justice, who stated today that “it is clear (that) demolition was high-handed and without the authority of law.” The petitioner claims that the demolition was only done because they had pointed out irregularities in the road construction in a newspaper report, saying that the state’s actions cannot be tolerated and that the law must be followed when dealing with private property.
The petitioner had encroached on public land, according to the Uttar Pradesh government.
The Chief Justice remarked, “You claim that he was an encroacher of 3.7 square meters. We accept that, and we are not awarding him a certificate for it, but how can you begin tearing down people’s homes in that manner? This is lawlessness… entering someone’s home.
“You cannot come with bulldozers and demolish houses overnight. You do not give time to family to vacate. What about the household articles? There has to be due process followed,” stated Justice Pardiwala, who is also a member of the three-judge bench.
“We have the affidavit that says no notice was issued; you only went to the site and informed the people through a loudspeaker. You can not just, with a beat of a drum, tell people to vacate houses and demolish them. There has to be proper notice,” the bench, which also included Justice Manoj Misra, stated, citing case documents that demonstrate the petitioner was not given a notice.
The court ordered the state government to investigate and take action against officers involved in the unlawful demolition, and it ordered the Yogi Adityanth government to pay Rs 25 lakh in compensation.
The Chief Justice established rules that the state government must adhere to in these situations: determining the road’s width, notifying the encroachment, resolving any objections, and providing a reasonable amount of time to remove the encroachment.