Rajasthan High Court - Jodhpur
Hasam Khan @ Hasu Khan vs State Of Rajasthan on 28 June, 2022
Bench: S. S. Shinde, Sandeep Mehta
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT
JODHPUR
D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 5527/2022
Hasam Khan @ Hasu Khan S/o Kabu Khan, Aged About 42 Years,
Khamthal, Bandhewa, Jaisalmer, At Present R/o Gram Panchayat
Subhash Nagar, Village Subansar, Tehsil Bhaniyana, District
Jaisalmer.
----Petitioner
Versus
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through The Secretary To The
Government Of Rajasthan, Department Of Rajasthan
Panchayati Raj, Secretariat, Raj, Jaipur
2. The District Collector, Jaisalmer
3. Chief Executive Officer, Zila Parishad Jaisalmer
4. The Block Development Officer, Panchayat Samiti
Bhaniyana, District Jaisalmer
5. Sub Divisional Officer, Bhaniyana, Jaisalmer
6. The Tehsildar, Tehsil Bhaniyana, Jaisalmer
7. Sarpanch, Gram Panchayat Subhash Nagar, Village
Subansar, Tehsil Bhaniyana, District Jaisalmer
8. The Village Development Officer, Gram Panchayat
Subhash Nagar, Village Subansar, Tehsil Bhaniyana,
District Jaisalmer
9. Safi Khan S/o Bhikhey Khan, B/c Muslim, R/o Gram
Panchayat Subhash Nagar, Village Subansar, Tehsil
Bhaniyana, District Jaisalmer
10. Amad Khan S/o Saradeen Khan, B/c Muslim, R/o Gram
Panchayat Subhash Nagar, Village Subansar, Tehsil
Bhaniyana, District Jaisalmer
11. Saley Khan S/o Saradeen Khan, B/c Muslim, R/o Gram
Panchayat Subhash Nagar, Village Subansar, Tehsil
Bhaniyana, District Jaisalmer
12. Jamal Khan S/o Saley Khan, B/c Muslim, R/o Gram
Panchayat Subhash Nagar, Village Subansar, Tehsil
Bhaniyana, District Jaisalmer
13. Barkat Khan S/o Rahmat Khan, B/c Muslim, R/o Gram
Panchayat Subhash Nagar, Village Subansar, Tehsil
Bhaniyana, District Jaisalmer
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14. Razak Khan S/o Jam Khan, B/c Muslim, R/o Gram
Panchayat Subhash Nagar, Village Subansar, Tehsil
Bhaniyana, District Jaisalmer
15. Amin Khan S/o Jam Khan, B/c Muslim, R/o Gram
Panchayat Subhash Nagar, Village Subansar, Tehsil
Bhaniyana, District Jaisalmer
16. Yakub Khan S/o Iliyas Khan, B/c Muslim, R/o Gram
Panchayat Subhash Nagar, Village Subansar, Tehsil
Bhaniyana, District Jaisalmer
----Respondents
For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Rajesh Choudhary & Ms. Manju
Choudhary.
For Respondent(s) : --
HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. S. S. SHINDE
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP MEHTA
Order 28/06/2022 The petitioner has approached this Court by way of this writ petition (PIL) with the following prayer:-
"1. That the Non Petitioners may kindly be directed to remove encroachment as shown in the Annexure-P/1 and they may be directed to provide the safe and secure environment for use of the general public.
2. That the Non-Petitioners and construction made on the encroachment as earmarked in the aforesaid maps. If any construction has been made, the same may also be declared illegal.
3. The necessary directions may kindly be issued to take action against the responsible persons, who were duty bound to remove encroachment and they may kindly be punished as per law.
4. Any other relief which this Hon'ble Court just and proper in favour of the petitioner may kindly be granted.
5. The cost of the writ petition may kindly be allowed in favour of the petitioner."(Downloaded on 29/06/2022 at 08:25:00 PM)
(3 of 5) [CW-5527/2022] Having heard and considered the submissions advanced by counsel representing the petitioner and, having gone through the material available on record, we are of the firm view that the petitioner has available to him a suitable remedy for ventilating his 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 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, (Downloaded on 29/06/2022 at 08:25:00 PM) (4 of 5) [CW-5527/2022] 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 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 petitioner is 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 petitioner in light of the directions given by this Court in the case of Jagdish Prasad Meena (Supra) and (Downloaded on 29/06/2022 at 08:25:00 PM) (5 of 5) [CW-5527/2022] decide the same within a period of three months from the date of submission thereof.
In case, any adverse order is passed, the petitioner shall be at liberty to challenge the same as per law.
The writ petition is disposed of in the above terms.
(SANDEEP MEHTA),J (S. S. SHINDE),CJ 41-a.asopa/-
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