The Supreme Court on Friday overturned an Allahabad High Court directive ordering the demolition of a Panchayat Bhawan in a village in Uttar Pradesh, remarking that structures built with public funds should not be brought down unnecessarily.

A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi modified the High Court’s March 4, 2024 order, which had directed dismantling of the community building at Phirsah Churrah village in Pilibhit district. The High Court had acted on a PIL alleging that the structure was obstructing a traditional village pathway.

“After all this is government money which was used for construction of Panchayat Bhawan that too on a Gram Sabha land… the public money should not go waste,” the bench observed while ruling against the demolition.

The Supreme

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