Summary
The Supreme Court rejected encroachers’ request to purchase occupied panchayat land under Rule 12(4) of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Rules as applicable in Haryana. The two-hundred-square-yard ceiling governed the total occupation, including construction and eligible open or appurtenant space. Both applicants exceeded that limit. A panchayat resolution did not override eligibility conditions, and unauthorized occupation conferred no independent right to regularization.
Issues
- Whether the two-hundred-square-yard ceiling under Rule 12(4) applied only to construction or to the entire occupied area.
Provisions considered
- Rule 12(4), Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Rules, 1964The maximum area covered total illegal occupation, including the constructed area and permitted open or appurtenant area. Applicants exceeding that ceiling could not claim sale or regularization under the rule. (¶¶ 2, 7, 8)
Held
- The cap could not be circumvented by treating open or appurtenant land as additional to two hundred square yards of construction. That interpretation would defeat the rule’s limitation to small encroachments. (¶ 7)
- After hearing the applicants and considering the verified site report, the authority found occupations of 757.37 and 239.48 square yards. Both failed the ceiling requirement, notwithstanding the panchayat resolution supporting their requests. (¶¶ 3, 7, 8)
- Regularization is available only under an applicable policy and on fulfilment of its conditions; unauthorized occupation itself creates no right to it. The protection of village common lands reinforced refusal of relief here. (¶¶ 8, 9)
Result
Special leave petition dismissed; rejection of the requests to purchase or regularize the panchayat land upheld.