Nearly two months after the Supreme Court instructed the Uttar Pradesh government to hold officials accountable for the illegal demolition of senior journalist Manoj Tibrewal Akash’s ancestral house, the Maharajganj police have registered a criminal case against 26 individuals, including the then District Magistrate (DM) and several other police and administrative officers.
Among the accused is Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer Amar Nath Upadhyay, who was serving as the DM of Maharajganj in September 2019 when Tibrewal’s property was demolished in the name of road widening, new agency PTI reported.
The case, which includes 16 serious charges such as criminal conspiracy, forgery, disobeying the law, and misusing official power, marks a significant development following the Supreme Court’s intervention.
On November 6, 2024, a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud had directed the Uttar Pradesh government to compensate Tibrewal with Rs 25 lakh after his two-storey house and shop were illegally razed.
The Supreme Court had also emphasized the need for punitive action against officials involved in the demolition, stating that "bulldozer justice" was unacceptable under the rule of law.
The demolition took place on September 13, 2019, in the Mohalla Hamid Nagar area of Maharajganj, after Tibrewal’s family was allegedly targeted in a dispute stemming from a corruption complaint about the construction of the National Highway-730.
According to the FIR filed, Sushil Kumar, the father of Tibrewal, had called for an investigation into the alleged irregularities and corruption in the road construction project, prompting a vindictive response from the district administration.
Tibrewal’s complaint to the police, which was submitted to the state Director General of Police in March 2020, described how the officials acted in conspiracy to demolish the family’s property.
He claimed that the house was razed without a legal notice or compensation, and that his family was forcibly evicted without any opportunity to recover their belongings. The demolition was carried out using bulldozers and excavators, with a heavy police presence blocking access to the site.
In his FIR, Tibrewal alleged that the demolition was part of a larger conspiracy involving financial wrongdoing and corruption in the road-widening project.
The accused officials, including ADM Kunj Bihari Agarwal, engineers, police officers, and other administrative staff, have been charged with multiple offenses including rioting, criminal intimidation, voluntary harm, assault, wrongful confinement, and creating fraudulent documents.
Tibrewal detailed how, just a day before the demolition, he and his family were misled during a meeting with the DM and other officials, where they were told only a small portion of their property would be demolished.
The following day, they were shocked to find that their entire house had been torn down, leaving their belongings, including important documents and medicines, destroyed.
The case has drawn attention to the systemic abuse of power and disregard for the rule of law in government-led demolition actions.
The Supreme Court’s directive to hold individual officials accountable is seen as a crucial step in ensuring justice for those whose rights are violated by arbitrary administrative actions.
Among the accused is Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer Amar Nath Upadhyay, who was serving as the DM of Maharajganj in September 2019 when Tibrewal’s property was demolished in the name of road widening, new agency PTI reported.
The case, which includes 16 serious charges such as criminal conspiracy, forgery, disobeying the law, and misusing official power, marks a significant development following the Supreme Court’s intervention.
On November 6, 2024, a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud had directed the Uttar Pradesh government to compensate Tibrewal with Rs 25 lakh after his two-storey house and shop were illegally razed.
The Supreme Court had also emphasized the need for punitive action against officials involved in the demolition, stating that "bulldozer justice" was unacceptable under the rule of law.
The demolition took place on September 13, 2019, in the Mohalla Hamid Nagar area of Maharajganj, after Tibrewal’s family was allegedly targeted in a dispute stemming from a corruption complaint about the construction of the National Highway-730.
According to the FIR filed, Sushil Kumar, the father of Tibrewal, had called for an investigation into the alleged irregularities and corruption in the road construction project, prompting a vindictive response from the district administration.
Tibrewal’s complaint to the police, which was submitted to the state Director General of Police in March 2020, described how the officials acted in conspiracy to demolish the family’s property.
He claimed that the house was razed without a legal notice or compensation, and that his family was forcibly evicted without any opportunity to recover their belongings. The demolition was carried out using bulldozers and excavators, with a heavy police presence blocking access to the site.
In his FIR, Tibrewal alleged that the demolition was part of a larger conspiracy involving financial wrongdoing and corruption in the road-widening project.
The accused officials, including ADM Kunj Bihari Agarwal, engineers, police officers, and other administrative staff, have been charged with multiple offenses including rioting, criminal intimidation, voluntary harm, assault, wrongful confinement, and creating fraudulent documents.
Tibrewal detailed how, just a day before the demolition, he and his family were misled during a meeting with the DM and other officials, where they were told only a small portion of their property would be demolished.
The following day, they were shocked to find that their entire house had been torn down, leaving their belongings, including important documents and medicines, destroyed.
The case has drawn attention to the systemic abuse of power and disregard for the rule of law in government-led demolition actions.
The Supreme Court’s directive to hold individual officials accountable is seen as a crucial step in ensuring justice for those whose rights are violated by arbitrary administrative actions.
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