Jammu & Kashmir High Court orders Defence Ministry to pay ₹2.49 crore rent to persons dispossessed of land by Army

The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh recently directed the Union Ministry of Defence to pay up pending rental dues of ₹ 2.49 crores to twenty-four families comprising Displaced Persons (DPs) from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) whose land was illegally and forcibly taken over by the Indian Army in 1978 [Saroop Singh and Ors. V/S Union of India and Ors.]..Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal observed that the land allotted to displaced persons in 1953 had been forcibly occupied by the Indian Army without following due process of law and without paying any rental compensation since 1978."Once a land is allotted to the DPs for their rehabilitation under, the same cannot be taken away from them by any means or by any of the agency without payment of rentals or by payment of compensation after adopting due course of law," the Court underscored..The Court concluded that the land of the displaced persons was taken over by the Central government illegally and unconstitutionally. The Court added that if the Central government wished to hold on to the land, then the land acquisition would have to be carried out by following the due process of the law, which includes the payment of compensation. "Union of India is under legal obligation to pay the rental compensation assessed by the State Government to the petitioners and to initiate the process to formally acquire the land, if they so desire in accordance with law," the Court said. .The judgment was passed on a batch of petitions by the descendants of displaced persons from PoK, who had been allotted land measuring 224 Kanals and 10 Marlas in the year 1953 by the (then) State Government for their rehabilitation under a 1954 Government Order. .The Indian Army took over their land in 1978. Over the years, various committees were formed to determine the amount of compensation to be given to the displaced persons. A rental compensation of ₹2.49 crores was eventually determined as the amount payable for the period from January 1, 1978, till March 31, 2009. This amount was also agreed to be paid by the Central government as well during committee proceedings. However, this payment was never made, leading the displaced persons to approach the High Court for relief in 2018. .On December 14, 2023, the High Court concluded that the Union of India has been in unauthorised occupation of the land since 1978."This court finds that the subject land belonging to the petitioners in under unauthorized occupation of the respondent-Union of India since 1978 and continues to be so, even as on date ... the respondents (Defence Ministry and other government authorities) have violated the basic rights of the petitioners and have deprived them of their valuable constitutional right without following the procedure as envisaged under law," the Court said. The Court emphasised that the right to property is a constitutional right as envisaged under Article 300A of the Constitution of India, and that the petitioners (displaced persons or their families) could not have been deprived of such rights without following the due process of law.The obligation to pay compensation for land acquisition though not expressly included in Article 300A, can be inferred from the said Article, the Court added..Accordingly, the High Court allowed the petition filed by the displaced persons and directed the respondent authorities to pay the rental compensation of ₹ 2.49 crores (for the period up to 2009) to the lawful claimants after necessary verification within a month.The Court added that additional rent for the period from 2009 onwards should also be estimated under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 within one month and paid to the claimants. The bench cautioned that interest at the rate of 6 percent per annum would have to be paid if all the rental compensation due is not paid within the timelines fixed by the Court. .Advocate Jagpaul Singh appeared for the petitioners (displaced persons and their families). Central Government Standing Counsel Sandeep Gupta, represented the Central government. Senior Additional Advocate General Monika Kohli appeared for the Deputy Commissioner, Jammu. .[Read Judgment]