The viral video of a girl clutching her books and fleeing as a bulldozer demolishes shanties was brought up in the Supreme Court today, where the bench criticized the Uttar Pradesh government and the Prayagraj administration for their 2020 demolition drive.

"There is a viral video where a small girl can be seen outside a demolished house. Everyone is very disturbed by such visuals," Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said as the court came down heavily against the authorities, calling the bulldozer action "inhuman" and ordering Rs 10 lakh compensation to each homeowner who approached the court.

The bench of Justice AS Oka and Justice Bhuyan criticized the Uttar Pradesh government for demolishing the homes of a lawyer, a professor, and others without following proper procedure. Advocate Zulfiqar Haider, Professor Ali Ahmed, and three others told the court they only received notices the night before the demolition.

The petitioners' lawyer explained that the authorities wrongly identified their land as belonging to gangster Atiq Ahmed, who was murdered in 2023.

The court also took issue with how the demolition notices were given. While the State counsel said the notices were put up at the properties, the court questioned why they weren’t sent by registered post.

"These cases shock our conscience. Residential premises of the appellants have been high-handedly demolished in matter which we have discussed in detail," the court said in its order.

The viral video the court referred to was from Ambedkar Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh. It showed a girl running from her shanty during a demolition in Jalalpur, holding her books tightly.

The video quickly went viral, drawing criticism from Opposition leaders who targeted the Yogi Adityanath government for its bulldozer actions, which have also been condemned by the Supreme Court.

Akhilesh Yadav, Lok Sabha MP and leader of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, also criticized the state government over the viral video.

"In Ambedkar Nagar, a government official is demolishing people's homes to assert his authority, forcing a young girl to run to save her books. These are the same BJP leaders who say Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao," he said.

"From the shanty being razed by the bulldozer, a little girl saved her most precious possession -- books! This video is a disgrace to those in power who snatch books from children's hands and the roof over their heads," it said.

However, the Ambedkar Nagar Police defended the demolition drive, stating that multiple notices had been issued to residents. They explained that the action was taken to remove encroachments from village land, following an ejection order (case number T202404040205504) issued by the Jalalpur tehsildar's court. The police claimed that several notices were given before clearing the non-residential structures and that the demolition was carried out in full compliance with the revenue court's order to reclaim government land.