NEW DELHI, August 18: The Supreme Court has directed the Jammu and Kashmir administration to compensate a landowner for property allegedly taken over without acquisition proceedings more than seven decades ago to build a police station in Kangan area of Ganderbal district.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana directed the land acquisition officer to calculate and award rentals for the use of the land from 1953, when it was allegedly taken over.
The court said fresh acquisition proceedings could not be ordered from the present date because of the nearly seven-decade delay, but directed that the acquisition proceedings be commenced from 2021, when petitioner Abdul Rashid Wani approached the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.
The final amount towards land acquisition and rentals will be determined by the High Court, the Supreme Court said.
Wani, represented by advocate Mahfooz Ahsan Nazki, had challenged a 2022 High Court order that dismissed his plea seeking possession of the land or compensation for its use.
According to his petition, his predecessors owned seven kanals and 18 marlas of land bearing survey number 525 at Mouza Kangan. The property was taken over in 1953 for construction of a police station without formal acquisition or payment of compensation.
Wani had sought restoration of possession or, alternatively, initiation of acquisition proceedings and payment of compensation or rental for the land’s use since 1953.
High Court had rejected plea over delay
The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court had dismissed the petition in June 2022, holding that the claim had been brought after an unexplained delay of about 68 years.
The High Court had described the claim as a “dead cause of action” and declined to exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction after such a prolonged period.
Wani had argued that his father was illiterate and could not approach the courts earlier. He also claimed that his family had approached authorities over the preceding two decades but could not produce supporting documents, saying government records had been destroyed in the 2014 floods.
The High Court, however, noted that Wani himself had reached adulthood more than two decades before filing the petition and had not adequately explained the delay.
The J&K administration had opposed the plea, arguing that the police department had remained in peaceful possession of the property since 1953 and that it would be difficult to produce records concerning the land after such a long period.
The High Court had observed: “Every cause of action should come to an end within a time bound period and should not be allowed to remain alive infinitely.”
The Supreme Court, while taking note of the delay, nevertheless allowed Wani relief by directing that rental compensation be calculated from the date the land was allegedly taken over in 1953.
