SC overturns order on Hry community land

The verdict has tremendous implications for Aravallis.

- Utkarsh Anand

In a judgment with major implications for land ownership in Haryana as well as for the sensitive Aravalli ranges, the Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside its April 2022 ruling that had directed the return of village commons to gram panchayats, dealing a blow to the state government's efforts to reclaim thousands of acres of land.

The court upheld the correctness of a 2003 full bench decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had held that unutilised land, not specifically earmarked for common purposes during consolidation, would continue to vest with proprietors rather than the panchayat or the state. A three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai and justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Viswanathan concluded that the 2022 ruling erred in ignoring binding precedent and constitutional principles.