New Delhi:
The viral video of a girl holding her books close and running away as a bulldozer razes shanties came up in the Supreme Court today as the bench blasted the Uttar Pradesh government and the Prayagraj administration, pulling them for a 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 slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for razing the homes of a lawyer, a professor and some others without following due procedure. Advocate Zulfiqar Haider, Professor Ali Ahmed and three others had told the court that they were given notices just one night before the bulldozer action.
The lawyer representing the petitioners had told the court that the authorities mistakenly identified the land on which their homes were built as belonging to gangster Atiq Ahmed, who was murdered in 2023.
The court also pulled up the authorities for the manner in which the demolition notices were served. While the State counsel said the notices were affixed at the properties, the court questioned why the notices were not 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 is from Ambedkar Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh. During a demolition action in Jalalpur, the girl was seen running away from her shanty, clutching her books close.
The video was widely shared, with Opposition leaders targeting the Yogi Adityanath government for its bulldozer actions, which have also come under criticism from the Supreme Court.
Akhilesh Yadav, Lok Sabha MP and chief of Uttar Pradesh’s Samajwadi Party, had targeted 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.
उप्र के अम्बेडकर नगर में एक प्रशासनिक अधिकारी अपनी शान दिखाने के लिए लोगों की झोपड़ियां गिरा रहा है और एक बच्ची अपनी किताबें बचाने के लिए भागने पर मजबूर है। ये वही भाजपाई लोग हैं, जो कहते हैं : बेटी बचाओ, बेटी पढ़ाओ! pic.twitter.com/eSTJKvZZKD
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) March 22, 2025
The Uttar Pradesh Congress had also shared the video on X and fired an attack on the Yogi Adityanath government. “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.
Ambedkar Nagar Police had, however, defended the demolition drive and said multiple notices had been issued to residents. “This action was taken to remove encroachment from the village land, following an ejection order (case number T202404040205504) passed by the Jalalpur tehsildar’s court. Multiple notices were issued before clearing the non-residential structures. The demolition was carried out in full compliance with the revenue court’s order to reclaim government land,” they said, according to a PTI report.
