Today, the Supreme Court criticized the Uttar Pradesh government for demolishing homes without following proper legal procedures, stating that residences cannot be demolished overnight and that families should be given adequate time to vacate.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, was hearing a suo motu case from 2020, which originated from a letter written by Manoj Tibrewal Aakash. His home was demolished in 2019 without prior notice, under the claim of encroachment on a highway. The petitioner argued that the demolition took place without due process.

This hearing also coincides with a separate bench of the Supreme Court reviewing petitions that challenge the practice of "bulldozer justice," a term used to describe the demolition of properties belonging to individuals accused in criminal cases.

The Chief Justice stated today that the demolition in this case was executed without any prior notice.

 "It is clear (that) demolition was high-handed and without the authority of law. The petitioner states the demolition was only (carried out) because the petitioner had flagged irregularities in road construction in a newspaper report. Such action by the state cannot be countenanced and when dealing with private property, law has to be followed," he said.

"You say that he was an encroacher of 3.7 sq m. We take it, we are not giving him a certificate for it, but how can you start demolishing people's houses like that? This is lawlessness... walking into somebody's house...," the Chief Justice said.

Justice Pardiwala, also part of the three-judge bench, said, "You can't come with bulldozers and demolish houses overnight. You don't give time to family to vacate. What about the household articles? There has to be due process followed."

The court observed that the case documents reveal the petitioner was not issued any notice. "We have the affidavit stating no notice was given; instead, people were merely informed through a loudspeaker at the site. You can't simply announce with a drumbeat for people to vacate their homes and demolish them. There must be a proper notice," remarked the bench, which also included Justice Manoj Misra.

The court directed Uttarpradesh government to pay ₹25 lakh as compensation to the petitioner. It also ordered the state government to conduct an inquiry and take appropriate action against the officers responsible for the unlawful demolition.

The Court mentioned specific guidelines for the state government to follow in such cases. These include determining the width of the road, issuing a notice to remove encroachments, addressing any objections, and providing a reasonable amount of time for the encroachments to be cleared.