Foojaram vs State Of Rajasthan
2022 Latest Caselaw 12153 Raj

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 14725/2022

1. Foojaram S/o Shri Dunga Ram Ji, Aged About 70 Years, Near Khsda Devi Temple, Ward 18, Sumerpur, Tehsil Bali, District Pali.

2. Modaram S/o Shri Goma Ji, Aged About 69 Years, Baanmata Road, Choudhary Colony, Bhairu Chouk, Sumerpur, Tehsil Bali, District Pali, Rajasthan.

----Petitioners Versus

1. State Of Rajasthan, Through Principal Secretary, Irrigation Department, Government Of Rajasthan, Jaipur.

2. The District Collector, Pali.

3. The Sub Divisional Officer, Sumerpur, District Pali.

4. The Executive Engineer, Irrigation Department, Sumerpur, District Pali.

5. The Tehsildar, Sumerpur, District Pali.

                                                                  ----Respondents


For Petitioner(s)          :     Mr. Rishabh Tayal
For Respondent(s)          :     -



           HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP MEHTA

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE KULDEEP MATHUR

Order

10/10/2022

The petitioners have approached this Court by way of this

writ petition (PIL) with the following prayer:-

"It is therefore prayed that this Hon'ble Court may

graciously allow the present writ petition and by an

appropriate writ order or direction, the respondents

may be directed to remove the encroachment over

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the canal and the adjacent land and remove the

illegal turn given to the Nahar from Khasra no. 384

Village Sumerpur, Tehsil Bali, District Pali which is

already passing from Khasra no. 385."

Having heard and considered the submissions advanced by

counsel representing the petitioners and, having gone through the

material available on record, we are of the firm view that the

petitioners have available to them a suitable remedy for

ventilating their grievances by virtue of the Division Bench

Judgment of this Court in the case of Jagdish Prasad Meena &

Ors. Vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors. passed in D.B. Civil Writ

Petition (PIL) No.10819/2018 decided on 30.01.2019

wherein this Court directed as below:-

"This Court is inundated with large number of writ petitions, styled as public interest litigation, from almost all the Districts of the State, with allegations of encroachment over the pasture land/ land of 'johad', 'talab'/ river/river bed/public way/Shamshan/Kabristan etc. In all such petitions, common allegation is that despite repeated complaints/representations to the concerned revenue officers, no steps are taken by them to remove the encroachment. This results in number of writ petitions being filed by the complainants/representationists before this Court. This Court has been passing orders in such matters requiring the respective District Collectors to examine the factual content of the allegations and take steps to remove the encroachments so as to secure such land.

In order therefore to provide a pan-Rajasthan solution to this ever persisting problem, we deem

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it appropriate to direct the Chief Secretary of the State to devise a permanent mechanism, which should be operational in every District of the State where the concerned District Collector should be required to periodically notify for the information of the general public to lodge the complaints/representations with regard to such encroachments with a specially designated Public Land Protection Cell (for short 'PLPC') for rural areas. The PLPC should be headed by District Collector and function under his direction and supervision. The PLPC shall get such complaints/representations enquired into by deputing concerned Sub DivisionalOfficer/Tehsildar/Naib Tehsildar so as to verify whether or not such encroachments have actually taken place on such land. If the allegations are found to be substantiated, appropriate steps in accordance with law be immediately taken for removal of the encroachments and appropriate penal action be also taken against the trespassers. The complaints/representations received in the PLPC should be decided by passing speaking order, informing the respective complainant/representationist about the action taken. This would obviate the necessity of such complainants/ representationists approaching this Court directly by way of public interest litigation. If this practice is put in place, this Court would not be inclined to directly entertain such public interest litigation or would do so only in the event of inaction on the part of the concerned PLPC. The PLPC aforementioned shall also keep in view the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in Jagpal Singh & Others Vs. State of Punjab & Others, (2011) 11 SCC 396wherein all the State

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Governments of the country were directed that they should prepare schemes for eviction of illegal/ unauthorised occupants of the Gram Sabha/GramPanchayat/Poramboke/ Shamlat land and the same must be restored to the Gram Sabha/Gram Panchayat for the common use of villagers of the village. The said scheme should provide for the speedy eviction of such illegal occupants, after giving them a showcause notice and a brief hearing. It was further held therein that long duration of the illegal encroachment/occupation of land or huge expenditure in making construction thereon or political connections of trespassers are no justification for regularising such illegal occupation. Regularisation should be permitted only in exceptional cases where lease has been granted under some government notification e.g. to landless labourers or members of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes or where there is already a school, hospital, dispensary, 'shamshan', 'kabristan' or other public utility of the like nature on the land."

Thus, the petitioners are relegated to submit a

representation to the District Collector concerned, who shall assign

the matter to the PLPC constituted under the directions of this

Court.

The PLPC shall have a thorough enquiry conducted into the

representation of the petitioners in light of the directions given by

this Court in the case of Jagdish Prasad Meena (Supra) and

decide the same within a period of two months from the date of

submission thereof.

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In case, any adverse order is passed, the petitioners shall be

at liberty to challenge the same as per law.

The writ petition is disposed of in the above terms.

(KULDEEP MATHUR),J (SANDEEP MEHTA),J 50-Divya/-

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