New Delhi: The Allahabad high court has suspended Additional District Judge (ADJ) of the Sultanpur district court, Manoj Kumar Shukla, for lying down in front of a bulldozer to protect his ancestral land from being taken over by the state government for a development project, LiveLaw reported.ADJ Shukla hails from the Chappia Shukla village in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district and his land had been acquired by the district administration for the construction of the Hariya-Rajwaha Saryu canal.The canal is part of the Saryu Nahar National Project, which had been inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December last year.According to a report by the Indian Express, the state irrigation department had written to the district administration seeking assistance in acquiring land for the project. After the acquisition, the administration sent letters to all the landowners and began construction shortly thereafter.Also read: In ‘World’s Largest’ Lift Irrigation Project, Telangana Govt Violates Land Acquisition LawsAmong the land acquired was a plot of farmland owned by Shukla’s father, Jagdish Prasad Shukla.“A cheque for the calculated amount (based on the circle rate) was signed and the judge’s father was informed to collect it. He came here, but did not collect the cheque,” the Express quoted a senior official of the acquisition drive as saying.When construction was underway, ADJ Shukla reportedly lay down in front of a bulldozer, dressed in a coat and tie, to prevent his father’s land from being acquired. He remained in front of the bulldozer for an entire night without eating or drinking.According to a report by Aaj Tak, ADJ Shukla had called the acquisition of his father’s land in 2013 “against the rules” and had said that the DM’s order was “corrupt”.Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav had, on March 25, tweeted about the “injustice” being done to ADJ Shukla, calling the case, “The worst example of a poor law and order situation”.उप्र में हो रहे अन्याय के ख़िलाफ़ अपर ज़िला जज श्री मनोज कुमार शुक्ला के मामले का तुरंत न्यायिक संज्ञान लिया जाए। जब न्यायालय से जुड़े व्यक्तियों के साथ ऐसा हो रहा है तो आम जनता के साथ क्या होगा। ये बदहाल क़ानून-व्यवस्था का निकृष्टतम उदाहरण है।जनता को जस्टिस चाहिए जेसीबी नहीं! pic.twitter.com/ZcXZMg7sKU— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) March 25, 2022Following the incident, the Basti district magistrate (DM) had sent a report to the state government, which forwarded it along to the Allahabad high court.Thereafter, the High Court Administrative Committee took the decision to suspend ADJ Shukla and, as per the high court website, he has been “suspended since 03-04-2022 (April 3)”.