PRAYAGRAJ, April 2 -- Allahabad University's retired Urdu professor Ali Ahmed Fatmi on Wednesday said he was grateful and satisfied that the Supreme Court "understood our pain" a day after the top court censured Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) for demolishing the homes of Fatmi and four others in March 2021, allegedly without following proper legal procedure, and ordered compensation of Rs.10 lakh to each aggrieved house owner.

A well-known litterateur and former head of the Urdu department of Allahabad University (AU), Prof Fatmi's house was demolished on March 7, 2021 on the ground that it was an illegal construction on Nazul land.

The administration also demolished his daughter Naila Fatmi's house as well as other adjoining pro...