Supreme Court slams Yogi government for illegal demolition, calls action 'unconstitutional' and 'inhumane'
PTC News Desk: The Supreme Court came down heavily on Uttar Pradesh's Yogi government for conducting mass demolition drive describing it as 'unconstitutional' and 'inhumane'. The court has further ordered Prayagraj civic body to pay rs 10 lakh compensation to each petitioner whose residence was demolished in 2021 under the false premise that it belonged to the late gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed.
"This shocks our conscience. There is something called right to shelter, due process of law,"said the bench comprising Justices AS Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan.
Earlier the court had reprimanded the Uttar Pradesh government for bulldozer action on the homes of lawyer, a professor and some others without following due procedure. An advocate, a professor informed the court that they were only informed a night prior to the bulldozer action.
While the State counsel said the notices were affixed at the properties, the court questioned why the notices were sent by registered post. "This affixing business must be stopped. They have lost their houses because of this... And fix compensation of Rs 10 lakh in each case. That is the only way to do this. So that this authority will always remember to follow due process," Justice Oka said.
"These cases shock our conscience. Residential premises of the appellants have been high handedly demolished in matter which we have discussed in detail," the court said in its order.
- With inputs from agencies
