New Delhi. The Supreme Court, which is showing a strict attitude on bulldozer action in different states, reprimanded the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday, November 6. Supreme Court said- This is arbitrary. You cannot demolish a house overnight with a bulldozer. You don’t give time to the family to vacate the house. What about household items? What is the proper procedure to be followed? Chief Justice DY Chandrachud expressed his displeasure and said- How can you start demolishing people’s houses like this? Entering someone’s house and demolishing it without any notice is anarchy.
Expressing displeasure with the government and its agencies, the Supreme Court said – You cannot just bang the drum and ask people to vacate their houses and demolish them. Along with this, the court directed the government to pay a compensation of Rs 25 lakh. This matter is of 2019. In Maharajganj district, the administration had bulldozed many houses for road widening. The petitioner’s lawyer had demanded an investigation into the issue. The court also said in the order that this matter should be investigated in depth. Because no document has been presented, which shows the original width of the road and the encroachment of the National Highway Authority i.e. NHAI.
The bench of Chief Justice Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra heard the petition filed in 2020 on suo motu cognizance. This petition was filed by Manoj Tibrewal. His house in Maharajganj was also demolished in 2019 in the name of encroachment. During the hearing, the Uttar Pradesh government told the court that the petitioner had encroached on 3.7 square meters. Questioning this argument of the government, the court said – How can you completely demolish people’s houses like this? It is illegal to break into someone’s house and demolish it without notice.