Acquire land for road work within 6 months: HP High Court to govt

Shimla, October 13

In a matter pertaining to the utilisation of private land for road construction without acquiring it, the HP High Court has directed the state government to acquire the land in question, in accordance with law, within six months or hand over its possession to the owners.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Bipin Chander Negi passed the order on an appeal filed by the government against the judgment of a Single Bench that directed it to either acquire land or hand over its possession to the owners.

The court found that the government utilised the land of the respondents for the construction of the Rakkad-Basoli road in Una district without following the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act.

The court observed that “the present case is an example of forcible dispossession of a person from his private property without following the process of law. The court found the action of the state government violative of human rights as well as constitutional rights”.

The Bench stated that “such an act on the part of the state, which is the custodian and protector of rights, life and property of its citizens, definitely shocks the judicial conscience of the court.” The government contended that it had obtained the oral consent of the owners to utilise their land for road construction but the latter denied this claim.