Context:
Supreme Court (SC) allowed a review of its 2022 judgment on ‘shamlat deh’ land rights.
Shamlat deh:
- Refers to ‘village common land’.
- Created by – Multiple landowners contributing an equal portion of their individual land holdings.
- Aim – To serve the “common purposes” of village’s people.
- It is not one patch of land but consists of several chunks and has been classified in many land areas.
- Rights – Landholders in a village have proprietary rights in Shamilat land in proportion to the size of their holdings.
Important Judicial Verdicts:
- Ajit Singh v State of Punjab (1967) –
- In land acquisition, the beneficiary is state.
- In modification/ extinguishment of Land Rights, the beneficiary is not the sate unless the rights are transferred to the state after the rights of the land-holder are extinguished
- Bhagat Ram vs State of Punjab (1967) –
- Reserving the land for income of panchayat is effectively acquiring the land.
- If the beneficiary of the scheme was the panchayat, then the state is also a beneficiary.
- 2003 Judgement by Punjab & Haryana High Court –
- The state and the gram panchayat could not acquire land that is not reserved under the consolidation scheme without providing compensation, as this violates the 2nd provision of Article 31A.
- 2nd provision of 31A – Prevents the government from acquiring land from a person, if the size of the land is below the “ceiling limit” (which changes based on the state and the applicable law), unless the state pays compensation “not be less than the market value” for the land.
- 2022 Judgement – SC had upheld a 1992 amendment to the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 – Allowed gram panchayats to manage and control shamlat deh land as “lands reserved for the common purposes of a village”.
- Karnail Singh vs State of Haryana, 2024 – It held that the 2022 decision vesting control of the land in the panchayat once the land is assigned was “totally contrary” to the Constitution Bench in Bhagat Ram case.
- It also directed the challenge to the 2003 High Court decision to be heard once again soon.
Related Terms:
- Gora Deh – The place in a village where cattle are gathered before going to the pasture.
- Abadi Deh – The chunks of land on which houses or mosques, temples or gurudwaras are constructed.
Source: The Indian Express
Previous Year Question
What is the position of the Right to Property in India?
[UPSC Civil Service Exam – 2021 Prelims]
(a) Legal right available to citizens only
(b) Legal right available to any person
(c) Fundamental Right available to citizens only
(d) Neither Fundamental Right nor legal right
Answer: (b)
