Gram panchayats have 12 years to enforce eviction orders, not 3: High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that the period of limitation for enforcing eviction orders under the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act is 12 years as prescribed under Article 136 of the Limitation Act. It is not three years as contended under Article 137.

The Division Bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Vikas Suri pronounced the verdict while adjudicating a writ petition filed way back in 1999. This ruling has far-reaching implications for Gram Panchayats across Punjab and Haryana, which frequently face resistance in executing eviction orders against illegal encroachers.

The High Court’s judgment strengthens the hands of local bodies by confirming that they have 12 years to enforce eviction orders, thereby preventing encroachers from exploiting procedural technicalities to retain possession unlawfully.

The core issue before the High Court was whether the limitation period for filing an execution petition against an eviction order under Section 7 of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act should be governed by Article 136 of the Limitation Act prescribing 12 years or Article 137 prescribing three years. Ambala Divisional Commissioner had relied upon Article 137 in the matter, thereby holding an execution petition time-barred.

The Gram Panchayat, on the other hand, contended that Article 136 applied, making the petition within time.

The High Court observed that Article 136 of the Limitation Act was applicable to the execution of all decrees and orders granting possession unless specifically exempted. It explicitly provides for a limitation period of 12 years, computed from the date when the decree or order becomes enforceable.

The court emphasised that an eviction order under Section 7 of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act had the same force as a decree, and thus Article 136 should apply.

Rejecting the Commissioner’s reliance on Article 137, the High Court noted that Article 137 applies to applications for which no specific limitation was prescribed in the Limitation Act. Since eviction orders under the Act of 1961 fell within the ambit of execution of possession decrees, they must be governed by Article 136.

The court also addressed the contention that the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887, should guide the limitation period. It categorically held that the objectives and scope of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act were distinct from the Punjab Tenancy Act, which primarily governed agricultural tenancies. Any attempt to import provisions from the Punjab Tenancy Act into the execution proceedings under the Act of 1961 was deemed legally untenable.