New Delhi: Today, the Supreme Court (November 6) criticized the Uttar Pradesh Government’s "high-handed" and unauthorized demolition of homes, establishing a set of guidelines for state authorities to follow during road-widening projects. The bench, including Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, reviewed a suo motu writ petition filed in 2020 after a letter complaint by Manoj Tibrewal Aakash, whose home had been demolished in 2019. The Court noted that, although only 3.70 meters of Aakash's property encroached on the project road, authorities demolished an area between 8-10 meters, far exceeding necessary limits.

The Court expressed disapproval over the lack of proper notice to affected residents, noting that notifications were only made by public drum announcements, labeling this approach as "completely high-handed and without legal authority."
The Court then outlined specific procedures to be followed to ensure lawful conduct in future road-widening efforts:
1. Confirm the existing road width using official records and maps.
2. Conduct a survey or demarcation to identify encroachments based on these maps.
3. Issue formal notice to individuals encroaching on the road.
4. Allow objections to the notice, which should be addressed through a reasoned order respecting natural justice.
5. If objections are overruled, provide a reasonable notice period to the encroacher to voluntarily remove any illegal construction.
6. Should the encroacher fail to comply, authorized officials may proceed with removal, unless a Court order intervenes.
7. If the road width is insufficient for the project, the State must first legally acquire additional land before proceeding with widening.

The Court ordered Uttar Pradesh to pay Rs 25 lakh as interim punitive compensation to the petitioner, whose home was unlawfully demolished. This interim compensation does not limit the petitioner from pursuing further legal action for additional damages.
Additionally, the Court instructed the Chief Secretary of UP to conduct an investigation into the officials and contractors responsible for these illegal demolitions and to initiate disciplinary actions, including possible criminal proceedings.

A copy of the judgment was ordered to be distributed to all States and Union Territories.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Bhatnagar, along with Advocate Shubham Kulshreshtha, represented the petitioner in the proceedings.

Case : IN RE MANOJ TIBREWAL AKASH W.P.(C) No. 1294/2020