Rajasthan High Court: In a writ petition seeking relief from being dispossessed without due process, a single-judge bench comprising of Vinit Kumar Mathur, J., acknowledged that the matter requires consideration and issued notices, including a notice for a stay application, returnable by 08-07-2024. The Court granted the interim order protecting the petitioners from dispossession which remains in effect until the next date of hearing.
In the instant matter, the petitioners filed a writ petition before this Court seeking relief from being dispossessed without due process. The residents of Odwada village in Jalore district faced an anti-encroachment drive on a 35-acre piece of pasture land, following this Court’s previous order dated 07-05-2024. The Court ordered to remove encroachments from the government pasture land. The district administration, supported by police forces, attempted to remove structures classified as encroachments. This action included removing fences and boundary walls but excluded residential houses. A total of 342 areas were initially marked as encroachments, with 198 scheduled for removal.
The petitioners presented documents, including pattas and sanads, demonstrating their rightful possession of a piece of land. Despite these documents being issued by competent authorities of the State Government, the petitioners alleged that they are being dispossessed from their land without any legal proceedings or appropriate steps being taken in accordance with the law. The respondents, represented by the Additional Advocate General, have requested time to file a reply and gather complete instructions regarding the matter.
The Court granted the respondents time to file their reply or complete their instructions, as requested by the learned Additional Advocate General. In the meantime, the Court directed that the petitioners are not to be dispossessed from their land, as per their pattas/sanads, until the next hearing date. The Court directed the Additional Advocate General to instruct the relevant authorities not to dispossess individuals who have valid documents showing their possession of the land. Those without such documents may be removed as encroachers. The case is scheduled for further hearing on 08-07-2024.
[Pratap Singh v. State of Rajasthan, S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 8054/2024, order dated 17-05-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
Mr. Shyam Sunder Paliwal, Counsel for the Petitioners
Mr. Rajesh Panwar, Sr. Advocate and AAG assisted by Mr. Monal Chugh, Ms. Meenal Singhvi and Mr. Moti Singh, Counsel for the Respondents