Bring bulldozers and demolish buildings overnight… Why did the Supreme Court scold the UP government?

New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed unhappiness with the Uttar Pradesh government over illegal demolition of structures in 2019. The apex court issued directions to all states and union territories on the procedure to be followed for widening roads and removing encroachments. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra directed Uttar Pradesh to pay compensation of Rs 25 lakh to a man whose house was demolished for a road widening project in 2019.

UP government orders investigation

The bench told the counsel for the Uttar Pradesh government that you cannot bring bulldozers and demolish buildings overnight. You don’t give time to the family to vacate the house. What about the household items kept in the house? The apex court bench asked the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh to conduct an inquiry into the matter related to demolition of houses in Maharajganj district and appropriate action should be taken. The bench also spoke in detail about the steps that a state should take before proceeding with a road widening project.

Notice before removing encroachment

The top court asked the states to ascertain the existing width of the road on the basis of records or maps and conduct a survey so that encroachment on the road, if any, can be detected. The top court said that if encroachment is detected on the road, So the State will have to issue a notice to the encroachment before removing it and if the veracity and validity of the notice is objected then the State will issue a ‘Speaking Order’ (order with reasons) keeping in mind the principles of natural justice.

The bench said that if the objection is rejected then a reasonable notice will be given to the person concerned to remove the encroachment. The bench said that if the person concerned does not comply, the competent authority will take steps to remove the encroachment, unless stayed by the order of the competent authority or the court.

Acquisition action should be taken as per law

The bench said that in a case where the existing width of the road, including the adjoining State land, is not sufficient for road widening, the State would be entitled to acquire its land as per law before initiating this action. Will take steps. In this case, senior advocate Siddharth Bhatnagar and advocate Shubham Kulshrestha were presenting the case on behalf of the petitioner. Hearing their side, the court said, “It is clear that the process of demolishing the house was completely arbitrary and was carried out without following the law.”

During the hearing, the bench was informed about the demolition of 123 structures in the concerned area. The bench said that as per the court records, no notice was issued before demolishing the house. The bench said, “You are saying that you only made an announcement.” The top court also asked the state government’s counsel as to on what basis the construction work has been declared unauthorized.

‘Road widening is just an excuse’

When the state counsel told the bench about the road widening project, he/she said, “Road widening is just an excuse. This doesn’t seem like a good reason for the whole exercise. “The State of Uttar Pradesh will pay a compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the petitioner,” the bench directed. The bench directed the Registrar (Judicial) to send a copy of its order to the Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories to ensure compliance with the instructions issued on the procedure for the purpose of road widening.