Public Interest Litigation can address compliance with procedural norms in allotment of surplus land, but individual disputes must be resolved through appropriate legal actions.

JUDGMENT :

SUNITA AGARWAL, J.

1. Heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. The present petition has been filed in the nature of Public Interest Litigation in the name of Jan Sangarsh Manch, a civil right organization through an activist named Shri.Jignesh Mevani with the contention that the cause of members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes who would fall in the category of eligible persons for allotment of surplus land is being espoused in the present petition. The prayers made in the writ petition are as under:-

“(a) The petitioner prays that Honorable Court be pleased to allow the present petition and be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ order or directions directing the respondents to carry out all the procedure enumerated under the clause 8(g) of the GR dated 25 May, 2000, Annexure-E, in response of all land granted for cultivation to the landless till date and including all the land grantees and shown in the Annexure A.D, and G and placed before this Honorable Court the action taken report for compliance.

(b) Be pleased to direct the Collectors i.e. Respondent No.2 and 4 and the DILR, respondent no3 and 5 to forthwith carry out the procedure enumerated in clause 8(g) of GR in respect of all the land granted for the district of Ahmadabad AND Surendranagar as shown in Annexure-G and handover the land to each of the beneficiaries of land and to do everything needful to ensure the beneficiary is able to cultivate his/her piece of land.

(c) The Honorable Court be placed to grant interim relief in terms of prayer b above (d) The Honorable Court be pleased to direct the respondents to pay appropriate compensation in terms of money for preventing the beneficiaries from cultivating the land granted to them for cultivation.

(e) The Hon'ble Court be pleased to direct the Respondent No. 1 to immediately furnish the names of grantees to whom land admeasuring 56,873 Acres, Annexure-A have been allotted. The Hon'ble Court be further pleased to direct the respondent No.1 to complete the task of land survey and handing over the possession to each grantees of above referred land and file the Action Taken Report before this Hon'ble Court immediately.

(f) The Hon'ble Court be further pleased to direct the respondent No.1 to furnish the details with regard to name and quantity of land allotted, surveyed and hand over to 37,353 grantees and file the Action Taken Report before this Hon'ble Court immediately.”

2. Having perused the prayers made in the writ petition, pertinent is to note that the petitioner seeks strict adherence to the procedure enumerated under Clause (8g) of the Government Resolution dated 25.05.2000, which pertains to the grant of surplus land to the landless/eligible persons. Upon perusal of prayer ‘e’ in the prayer clause of the writ petition, it may be noted that the petitioner was raising an issue with regard to the grant of surplus land admeasuring 56,873 acres, seeking direction to the respondent No.1 to complete the task of land survey and handover the possession to each grantee.

3. By order dated 13.10.2023, we required the learned Assistant Government Pleader to furnish the report to this Court of a committee which was constituted for disposal of the aforesaid land. In response thereto, an affidavit dated 08.07.2025 of the Deputy Secretary, Revenue Department, Gandhinagar has been placed before us by Ms.Manisha Lavkumar Shah, the learned Additional Advocate General appearing on behalf of the State Respondents.

4. In the said affidavit, it is intimated that the Revenue D