Supreme Court Orders ₹10 Lakh Compensation for Illegal Home Demolitions, Calls Actions “Inhumane”
Last Updated on April 2, 2025 by Amit Patra
In a landmark ruling affording more weight to the constitutional rights to shelter, the Supreme Court ordered the Prayagraj Development Authority to pay ₹10 lakh to each of six individuals whose homes had been torn down in the judgment, decrying the demolitions by the order as “shocking” and “inhumane”.
“Such cases are really shocking to our conscience,” said Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, observing that the right to shelter became an integral part of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, enshrining the right to life and personal liberty.
The judgment concerned demolition notices dated March 2021, for which the authorities concerned had neither issued notice procedures nor formal procedures before demolishing these structures-for the purported reason. “This afixing business has to be stopped. They have lost their houses just because of this,” remarked Justice Oka in prize with the proceedings.
The court established that a show-cause notice issued on 18 December 2020 was also affixed on the first day with claims of having made two failed attempts for service in person. Another demolition order of January 2021 was similarly affixed but was not sent by registered post. The first registered communication was, however, received only on March 6, 2021 – just one day before demolitions began – denying the residents of any opportunity to appeal.
The Court interpreted Section 43, which deals with notices in UP Planning Act, by ruling: “Before resorting to affixture proper, genuine efforts must be made at personal service.” “It cannot be that the person entrusted with the job of serving notice goes to the house and affixes it after finding that on that day the person concerned is not available,” the Court stated.
While Attorney General opposed the compensation pleading that such persons did have a roof over their heads, Justice Oka said such compensation was really needed to hold authorities accountable: “This will record this whole thing as illegal. That is the only way to do this, so that this authority will always remember to follow due process.”
The Court shall, thus, direct Prayagraj Planning Authority to “scrupulously follow” guidelines related to notice service and demolition as cited in a recently decided 2024 case, In Re Directions In The Matter Of Demolition Of Structures.
This judgment conveys a clear message to the development authorities across the board about how seriously levied the housing rights are and how these rights are unrelenting when it comes to fair procedures during demolition.
