New Delhi: The Supreme Court has strongly criticized the Uttar Pradesh government and the Prayagraj Development Authority over the demolition of houses in Prayagraj. The court ordered that the owners of the demolished houses be paid a compensation of ₹10 lakh each within six weeks. The court referred to the action as extremely inhumane and unjust.
The verdict was delivered by a bench consisting of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjwal Bhuyan. The court termed the incident as shocking and described it as a gross violation of human rights.
The demolitions were carried out under the mistaken belief that the houses were located on land formerly occupied by gangster and politician Atiq Ahmed, who was killed in 2023. The petitioners, Advocate Sulficar Haider and Professor Ali Ahmad, approached the court seeking justice for the affected families.