Supreme Court Orders ₹10 Lakh Compensation for Prayagraj Demolition Victims

In a major ruling, the Supreme Court on Tuesday termed the 2021 demolitions in Prayagraj as “high-handed” and directed the Uttar Pradesh government and the Prayagraj Development Authority to compensate affected homeowners with ₹10 lakh each within six weeks.

Demolitions Without Due Process

The verdict follows the Supreme Court’s March 24 observation that the UP administration had demolished homes within 24 hours of issuing notices, violating due process. A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan ruled that the affected homeowners would be allowed to rebuild their houses at their own cost.

“This shocks our conscience. There is something called the right to shelter and due process of law,” the bench remarked, highlighting the lack of adequate notice before the demolitions.

Wrongly Linked to Atiq Ahmed’s Land

According to the petitioners, the state government wrongly assumed the land belonged to gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed, who was killed in a police encounter in 2023. As per their plea, demolition notices were issued on March 1, 2021, but were served only on March 6—just a day before their homes were razed on March 7. This left them with no time to appeal under Section 27(2) of the UP Urban Planning and Development Act.

Allahabad High Court Had Dismissed Plea

Earlier, the Allahabad High Court had dismissed the petitioners’ plea against the demolition. However, the Supreme Court, hearing the case filed by advocate Zulfiqar Haider, professor Ali Ahmed, and others, has now ruled in their favor, ordering compensation and reaffirming the right to due process in demolitions.