The Allahabad High Court has strongly condemned the conduct of senior administrative officials in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district for demolishing a woman’s house despite an explicit interim stay order. The court remarked that certain executive officers seem to “derive a sense of pride in flouting judicial orders.”
Justice JJ Munir, while hearing the matter, observed:
"There seems to have come about a culture amongst the Executive Officers of the State, particularly, those in the Police and Civil administration to find a kind of pride in flouting judicial orders. It seems to give them a sense of achievement, rather than make them feel the guilt of being offenders."
The Court expressed its concern that the violation was not a minor error but a deliberate disregard of the judiciary’s authority. It directed the Collector, SDM, and Tehsildar of Baghpat to file personal affidavits by July 7, 2025, explaining why they should not be ordered to reconstruct the demolished house at government cost.
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The petitioner, Smt. Chhama, had secured an interim order from the High Court on May 15, 2025, staying eviction and demolition proceedings initiated against her under Section 67 of the UP Revenue Code. The Court had clearly directed that “constructions of the petitioner shall not be demolished.”
Despite this, on May 16, 2025, a team of revenue officials, allegedly led by the SDM and Tehsildar and assisted by police, went ahead and demolished the petitioner’s home. The officials were shown a physical copy of the High Court’s stay order but reportedly continued with the demolition.
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In response, the petitioner filed an application under Article 215 of the Constitution, urging the Court to punish the responsible officers for willfully disobeying its order. The officials named include:
- Avnish Tripathi (SDM, Tehsil-Sadar, Baghpat)
- Abhishek Kumar (Tehsildar, Tehsil-Sadar, Baghpat)
- Deepak Sharma (Revenue Inspector, Tehsil-Sadar)
- Mohit Tomar (Lekhpal, Baghpat)
The application also included photographs that, according to the Court,
“clearly showed that the officers were reading the order while the demolition was in progress.”
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Justice Munir highlighted that:
“Even if there is a delay in uploading the order, and it has been passed in the presence of the Standing Counsel, if the petitioner claims a stay order exists, it is the duty of the Authorities to halt drastic action like demolition until the stay is verified.”
The Court made it clear that “any action done, whatever be its nature, in violation of a judicial order, is a nullity.” Prima facie, the bench held that the demolition was carried out in violation of the interim stay.
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Emphasizing the seriousness of the act, the Court added:
“Demolition is a physical act which, once accomplished, leaves only two choices to the Court to undo the wrong—award of damages or restitution. This might be a case where restitution ought to be ordered.”
Accordingly, the Court has issued notices to the named officials and scheduled the next hearing for July 7, 2025, at 2 PM.
