Supreme Court Rejects Plea By Akbarnagar Demolition-Hit Residents Over UP SIR
The Supreme Court has refused to entertain a petition filed by displaced persons, who were excluded from the Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls carried out in the State of Uttar Pradesh.
A CJI Surya Kant led bench was informed that the petitioners were residents of Akbarnagar, Lucknow where demolitions were carried out for some illegal constructions. The eviction drive was part of the Lucknow district administration’s plan to beautify and develop the locality. The LDA notice said that the occupation in the area was “illegal and on a green belt area, which was liable to be demolished”.
"The demolition matter was taken up by the High Court, the decision was upheld by the Supreme Court. The counsel claims that the SIR process in UP excludes them. It is also claimed that most petitioners appeared in the electoral roll of 2002 or those who were born thereafter in subsequent voter list, it is in this light that petitioners are seeking further time to submit their enumeration forms. We are not inclined to entertain a Writ Petition under Article 32. We direct the District Collector, Lucknow to ascertain the facts of the case and take a decision as per the law, if the petitioner's grievance is not addressed effectively, they may approach the High Court, " the CJI ordered.
As per the Election Commission’s schedule, the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh was set to conclude on December 3, 2025. On December 18, 2025 Supreme Court had asked ECI to extend the deadline for UP after it was informed that nearly 25 lakh names had been deleted from the electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh alone. Highlighting anomalies in the revision process, court was further told that in several cases, the name of the husband appeared on the rolls while that of the wife was missing.
In May 2024, the Supreme Court had refused to intervene with the demolition drive conducted by the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) in the Akbar Nagar area of the city. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta had agreed with the findings recorded of the High Court that the colony in question had been constructed in the floodplain area. Court had further noted that the petitioners before it admitted to not having any documents or title and their claim was based upon adverse possession.
On March 9, 2024, the Allahabad High Court had granted residents of Akbar Nagar 1 and 2 areas in Lucknow, time till March 31st to vacate the disputed premises. Additionally, the high court instructed LDA to reduce the registration fee for the PM Awas (Prime Minister Awas Yojana) from Rs 5000 to Rs 1000.
In December 2023, the High Court had dismissed petitions challenging the LDA's decision to remove the unauthorised constructions forming part of Akbar Nagar located on the banks of the Kukrail nalla in Lucknow. The eviction drive is part of the Lucknow district administration’s plan to beautify and develop the locality. The LDA notice said that the occupation in the area was “illegal and on a green belt area, which was liable to be demolished”.
Case Title: SANA PARVEEN Vs ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA
Bench: CJI Kant and Justice Bagchi
Hearing Date: February 23, 2026