By Richa Sahay
On a petition against the anticipated demolition of a home in Uttar Pradesh following an FIR, the Allahabad High Court has delivered a split verdict. However, both judges agreed that the rights of the “little man” must be protected and demolitions must comply with the law and due process.
Justice Atul Sreedharan favoured a two-year hiatus on any demolition for two years after an FIR, but Justice Siddharth Nandan disagreed with the suggestion, resulting in a split verdict.
Justice Atul Sreedharan even quoted late Urdu poet Bashir Badr’s famous lines “Log toot jate hai ek ghar banane mein, tum taras nahi khate bastiyan jalane mein” (People give everything to make a home. You burn settlements without remorse), and observed, “In a meaningful democracy, the right of the individual must be protected – if the need arises – from the might of the state.”
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.
