Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 1
In a scathing judgment, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has asserted “public properties” were being sold and purchased by the land mafia. Worse, the land grabbers were playing hide and seek with the system.
A Division Bench of the High Court asserted it was constrained to observe land grabbers and land mafias, more often than not, indulged in the sale and purchase of public properties by fraudulent documentation in collusion with notorious persons by hoodwinking and by playing hide and seek game.
The Bench of Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Ashok Kumar Verma asserted it was resulting in “destruction of title of the state in respect of big chunk of public properties and loss to the exchequer which is a sordid and terrible state of affair”. The Bench was hearing a petition filed against Punjab Joint Development Commissioner, Director, Panchayats (IRD), and other respondents.
Speaking for the Bench, Justice Verma asserted the menace of encroachments on public properties was “creeping up” day-by-day and creating obstructions to the planned development of the nation. The Bench also made it clear any attempt to regularise illegal construction was deplored by the Supreme Court.
The Bench asserted the SC took note of the fact that village common land in large parts of the country had been grabbed by unscrupulous persons, using muscle power, money power or political clout to the extent that such land existed only on paper in many states. It was held the encroachers must be ordered to remove construction and hand over land possession to the gram panchayat, even if they had built houses. It was stressed gram sabha/panchayat land must be kept for the common use of village residents. Referring to the facts of the case, the Bench observed a gram panchayat filed a petition for ejectment of the petitioners, along with Sapinder Singh, from 71 kanals and four marlas situated in Patiala district. The panchayat averred the land was being used for common purpose/benefit of the inhabitants and the petitioners were illegally occupying it. As such they were liable for eviction/ejectment from the land in dispute.
After hearing the parties, the Collector (Panchayat Lands) and District Development and Panchayat Officer, Patiala, came to the conclusion that the panchayat was the land owner and the petitioners had encroached upon it. As such, he directed the petitioners’ eviction from the land in dispute. Finding no merit in the writ petition challenging this and other orders, the Bench dismissed the petition.
Public properties up for grabs, says Punjab and Haryana High Court
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