Gujarat HC Slams Surat Authorities Over Lack of Rehabilitation Plan After Slum Demolitions
New Delhi: The Gujarat high court on Friday, June 26, pulled up the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), state government, and police for the demolition of nearly 150 homes in Surat’s Nasirnagar slum, questioning who authorised the action and why due process was not followed.
Justice Nikhil Kariel, hearing a petition filed by residents, directed the SMC to prepare a “definite rehabilitation plan” for the displaced families by Monday. The judge, as reported in The Indian Express, remarked that even the demolition of a single house without due process “could not be countenanced” and stated, “I will not hear a submission that you do not have accommodation. Rent tents if you have to… The axe has to fall, and it will.”
The demolitions took place around May 28-30, 2026, in the Ved Darwaja/Katargam area of Surat. Residents alleged that bulldozers razed their homes without prior notice or any official demolition order, and that the operation was carried out under police protection.
Petitioner Hussain Aziz Shaikh (40), whose house was not demolished, moved the high court earlier in June, naming the State of Gujarat, SMC, Surat Police Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner of Police, and Special Operations Group as respondents. Later reports indicate up to 26 petitioners have joined the case.
The Surat Municipal Corporation has denied carrying out the demolition. Municipal Commissioner N. Nagarajan, according to media reports, has claimed that the SMC staff were present only for “demarcation of a proposed road” under a town planning scheme on privately owned land. “This demolition was not done by us,” he said. The police, however, have claimed that they provided security following a request from SMC authorities.
The high court has directed the government to explain the alleged presence of a deputy commissioner of police-rank officer and municipal officials at the site if the demolition was not an official exercise.
Through Government Pleader G.H. Virk, the court directed the Surat Police Commissioner to file a personal affidavit by Monday, June 29, explaining the police response to residents’ complaints and why no FIR was registered despite allegations.
Justice Kariel noted: “If the commissioner is informed that 150 houses have been demolished, either he says it was an official demolition by the Corporation, or he explains why no FIR has been registered… The (Commissioner) cannot choose to ignore such allegations.”
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