1 day Ago By Amit Anand Choudhary
The Supreme Court of India mandated the Prayagraj Development Authority to compensate five homeowners, whose houses were unlawfully demolished in 2021, with Rs 10 lakh each. The court emphasized that the right to shelter is a fundamental right and must be protected under the rule of law. NEW DELHI: Noting that a message has to be sent to "make govt authorities remember" that right to shelter is a fundamental right and rule of law is part of the basic structure of the Constitution, Supreme Court Tuesday directed Prayagraj Development Authority to pay compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to five people whose houses were illegally razed in 2021, setting a benchmark for the fine to be paid for resorting to what has come to be known as " bulldozer justice ".
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan rejected the state govt's plea to refrain from awarding compensation as the aggrieved people were not poor and owned multiple houses. Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the state, said the constructions were illegal and illegality should not be compensated. The court said there was a procedure prescribed before demolition and the facts of the case were shocking as houses were razed within 24 hours of proper notices being served.
The demolition was done on March 7, 2021, in which the houses of a lawyer, a professor and others were razed. Notice was served to them on March 6. 'These cases shock our conscience': SC on illegal Prayagraj demolitions Authorities, especially the development authority, must remember that the right to shelter is a fundamental right and an integral part of Article 21 of the Constitution.
They should also know that there is something called rule of law which is a basic feature of the Constitution, the SC bench said. As stated earlier, no effort was made to serve them notices in person or by registered post. Only communication dated March 1 was sent by registry which was received on March 6 and demolition was carried out on March 7.
The applicant was deprived to avail the appeal against the decision. Therefore, demolition is illegal, the bench added. "Considering the inhuman and illegal manner in which demolition was carried out, we quantify the compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the appellants and direct the Prayagraj Development Authority to pay compensation to the appellants," court said.
It added that the practice of affixing notice on the house had to stop which could be done as a last resort after notice could not be served in person. The bench said "these cases shock our conscience and this should never happen". Justifying its harsh order against Prayagraj Development Authority, the bench said this would discourage the authority from carrying out such exercises without following due procedure.
The petitioners in the case are advocate Zulfiqar Haider, professor Ali Ahmed and three other individuals. They moved the apex court after Allahabad HC dismissed their plea against the demolition. Granting them relief, the court said Section 27 of UP Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973, states that if a building is constructed in violation of the master plan or without proper approvals, the development authority may order its demolition after providing the owner with a reasonable opportunity to show cause.
In the previous hearing, the court had said that the state must act "very fairly and must give reasonable time to enable the aggrieved person to file an appeal before the structures are demolished"..
