New Delhi, Aug 17: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Jammu and Kashmir administration to pay compensation and rentals to a descendant of farmers whose land was taken over more than seven decades ago to build a police station, without formal acquisition proceedings.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was hearing a plea by Abdul Rashid Wani, challenging a 2022 ruling of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court that had rejected his petition because of the 68-year delay in seeking legal relief.
The land, measuring seven kanals and 18 marlas, was taken over in 1953 for construction of a police station in Kangan, in Ganderbal district, according to Wani’s petition.
The Supreme Court said fresh acquisition proceedings could not be ordered for the period dating back to 1953 because of the prolonged delay.
However, it directed that the land acquisition officer initiate proceedings from 2021, when Wani first approached the High Court.
The bench also directed authorities to calculate and pay rentals for the use of the land from 1953.
The final amount payable towards acquisition compensation and rentals will be determined by the High Court, the court said.
Wani, represented by lawyer Mahfooz Ahsan Nazki, said his predecessors owned the land, identified as survey number 525 at Mouza Kangan, and sought either restoration of possession or acquisition of the property with compensation.
Alternatively, he sought rental compensation for its use since 1953. The High Court, in its June 28, 2022 order, had declined to exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction, saying the claim had become a “dead cause of action” because of the prolonged delay. It noted that the land had been taken over about 68 years before Wani filed the petition and that he, then aged about 42, had not adequately explained why he had waited so long to seek legal redress.
The High Court also rejected Wani’s argument that his father’s illiteracy had prevented the family from approaching the courts earlier, noting that Wani himself had attained adulthood more than two decades before filing the petition. Wani had told the court that he had approached government authorities over the preceding 20 years but could not produce documentary evidence because the records had allegedly been destroyed in the 2014 floods.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration had opposed the petition, describing it as highly belated.
It argued that the police department had remained in peaceful possession of the property since 1953 and that retrieving records after such a long period would be difficult. The High Court had held that claims could not remain open indefinitely and that every cause of action had to be pursued within a reasonable period.
