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Polity & Governance
Mahesh

19/05/24 03:58 AM IST

Supreme Court allowed a review of its 2022 judgment on ‘shamlat deh’ land rights

In News
  • Protecting the rights of village landowners in Haryana, the Supreme Court allowed a review of a 2022 judgment.
Shamlat Deh
  • Shamlat deh is essentially village common land, created by multiple landowners contributing an equal portion of their individual land holdings to serve the “common purposes” of village’s people.
  • The apex court in 2022 had upheld a 1992 amendment to the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (henceforth, the Punjab Act) which allows gram panchayats to manage and control shamlat deh land as “lands reserved for the common purposes of a village”.
Land Acquisition under Article 31A
  • In 1967, a five-judge Bench was deciding the validity of a land consolidation scheme for the village of Dolike Sunderpur, which proposed to reserve lands “for common purposes” and divert the income of these lands to the panchayat.
  • Landowners challenged the scheme arguing that it violates the second proviso of Article 31A which prevents the government from acquiring land from a person, if the size of the land is below the “ceiling limit” (which changes based on the state and the applicable law), unless the state pays compensation “not be less than the market value” for the land.
  • The state of Punjab, on the other hand, argued that reserving lands for the income of the panchayat does not qualify as land acquisition as the income would be used to benefit the village community.
  • Earlier on the same day, the five-judge Bench decided the case of Ajit Singh v State of Punjab (1967), carving out the difference between land being acquired by the state, and the modification or extinguishment of land rights under Article 31A.
  • When land is acquired, the state is the beneficiary, which is not the case when land rights are modified or extinguished (unless the rights are transferred to the State after the rights of the land-holder are extinguished), the Bench ruled.
  • The court held that the panchayat was effectively acquiring the land by reserving its income. The court also observed that the panchayat’s income can only be used for the village community’s benefit, regardless.
  • Thus, accepting the state’s argument would “defeat the object” of the second proviso of Article 31A.
  • The apex court noted that possession and control of the land was not transferred as the scheme had been stayed by the Punjab & Haryana High Court.
  • Under Section 24 of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1948 (henceforth, the Consolidation Act), the scheme will only be “deemed to have come into force” after the possession is transferred.
Karnail Singh: SC allows review of 2022 judgment
  • The Bench of Justices Gavai and Mehta, in Karnail Singh vs State of Haryana (2024), found that the 2022 decision only made a “cursory reference” to the Constitution Bench’s decision in Bhagat Ram by saying that “There is no dispute about the said proposition in the present appeals”.
  • As the 2003 High Court judgment that was being appealed heavily relied on Bhagat Ram, Justices Gavai and Mehta stated that the “least that was expected of this Court” was to explain why the High Court was wrong.
  • Instead “there is not even a whisper about the Constitution Bench judgment in Bhagat Ram”.
  • The Bench in Karnail Singh then held that the 2022 decision vesting control of the land in the panchayat once the land is assigned was “totally contrary” to the Constitution Bench in Bhagat Ram, which had “held that the management and control does not vest in the Panchayat…till possession has changed” and that land-holders would still have rights over their holdings until such time.
  • The apex court held that a smaller bench ignoring a Constitution Bench decision was a “material error manifest on the face of the order”, which is the bar that is set for allowing a Supreme Court judgment to be reviewed.
Source- Indian Express

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