Village common land cannot be sold, rules Supreme Court
SETBACK TO THOSE WHO BOUGHT SUCH CHUNKS FROM PANCHAYATS & SHAREHOLDERS
CHANDIGARH: Thousands of acres of village common land (shamilat deh) in Haryana sold off by shareholders or gram panchayat for monetary gains would get freed with the owners being ousted following a Supreme Court ruling on Thursday. The shamilat deh is reserved and used for common purposes.
A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian held that the entire land reserved for common purposes by applying pro-rata cut had to be utilised by the gram panchayat for the present and future needs of the village community. “No part of the land can be re-partitioned amongst the proprietors and such land would not be available for sale,’’ the apex court ruled.
The SC said the argument of the proprietors that the land which is not capable of being used for common purposes of the inhabitants of a village shall be reverted to the proprietors is untenable and unsustainable.
“The land has been put to common pool by applying prorata cut. Once pro-rata cut has been applied, the management and control of such land vest with the panchayat. There is no question of reverting the land to the proprietors,” the bench said. Also, the panchayat will not have title over the land but as part of management and control, the panchayat is at liberty to put the land for the use for common purposes, the SC said.
The SC said the land which is not part of the permissible limits under the land ceiling laws stand acquired and vested with the panchayat in terms of judgment in Ranjit Singh case. However, in respect of the land forming part of permissible limits of the proprietor under the land ceiling laws, the management and control vest with the panchayat.
“Neither the Punjab village common lands Act, 1961 nor the consolidation of holdings Act, 1948 contemplates redistribution of land to the proprietors. It is an irrevocable act which cannot be undone. Therefore, once land vests with the Panchayat, it can be used for common purposes of the community and will never revert back to the proprietors,’’ the SC said, dismissing the appeals filed by proprietors. It also ruled that writ pleas before the HC will stand dismissed.