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Rajasthan High Court - Jodhpur
Baldev Bishnoi vs State Of Rajasthan ... on 10 April, 2026
Author: Pushpendra Singh Bhati
Bench: Pushpendra Singh Bhati
[2026:RJ-JD:16922-DB]
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT
JODHPUR
D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 8062/2026
Baldev Bishnoi S/o Late Shri Kashi Ramji Bishnoi, Aged About 46
Years, R/o Manaksar, Tehsil Suratgarh, District Sri Ganganagar
(Raj.).
----Petitioner
Versus
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through Principal Secretary,
Department Of Panchayati Raj, Government Of Rajasthan,
Jaipur.
2. The District Collector, Cum Plpc In Charge, District Sri
Ganganagar.
3. Chief Executive Officer, Zila Parishad, District Sri
Ganganagar.
4. District Forest Office, Sri Ganganagar.
5. Range Forest Officer, Suratgarh, District Sri Ganganagar.
6. Gram Panchayat Manaksar, P.s. Suratgarh, District Sri
Ganganagar, Through Its Administrator/village
Development Officer.
----Respondents
For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Shardul Singh.
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Harshvardhan Singh, for
Mr. Mahaveer Bishnoi, AAG.
Mr. Kuldeep Singh Solanki.
HON'BLE DR. JUSTICE PUSHPENDRA SINGH BHATI
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP SHAH
Order
10/04/2026
1. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that a Division
Bench of this Court in Jagdish Prashad Meena & Ors. Vs. State
of Rajasthan & Ors., D.B. Civil Writ Petition (PIL)
No.10819/2018, vide order dated 30.01.2019, has directed
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creation of Public Land Protection Cell(PLPC) for rural areas in
every district; the relevant portion of the order reads as follows :-
"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 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 Divisional Officer/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 396 wherein all the
State Governments of the country were directed that they should
prepare schemes for eviction of illegal/unauthorised occupants of
the Gram Sabha/Gram Panchayat/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 show cause notice and a brief hearing. It was
further held therein that long duration of the illegal encroachment/
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[2026:RJ-JD:16922-DB] (3 of 3) [CW-8062/2026]
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.
Observations of the Supreme Court in Jagpal Singh (supra) thus
leaves no manner of doubt that removal of encroachment on all
such land is a rule and regularisation an exception and that too in
extremely limited number of cases, which only the Government
can do by appropriate notification of the government and no other
authority.
List this matter on 14.03.2019.
A copy of this order be sent to the Chief Secretary of the State of
Rajasthan, Government Secretariat, Jaipur, who shall ensure
compliance of this order and do the needful for creation of Public
Land Protection Cell (PLPC) for rural areas. A copy of this order be
also provided to Mr. Anil Mehta, learned Additional Advocate
General for compliance. "
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the
petitioner may be permitted to submit a representation before the
PLPC and respondents be directed to dispose of the same within a
period of two months.
3. Accordingly, the writ petition stands disposed of in view of
the directions issued by a Division Bench of this Court in Jagdish
Prashad Meena (supra) and the petitioner is at liberty to make a
representation before PLPC and the respondents shall decide the
same within a period of two months, from the date of receiving
the certified copy of this order, strictly in accordance with law. All
pending applications, if any, also stand disposed of.
(SANDEEP SHAH),J (DR.PUSHPENDRA SINGH BHATI),J
38-Zeeshan
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