The State has a constitutional duty to protect land rights, and unauthorized occupation by government entities is impermissible.

ORDER :

1. This writ petition is admitting of no dispute to the fact that the two petitioners, who are the sons of Sh. Kanth Koul, are owners of the land measuring 2.7 kanals under khasra (Survey) No. 1318/338 in village Logripura, tehsil Pahalgam, district Anantnag, before their migration as Kashmiri Pandit Migrants in the year 1989 were very much in the peaceful possession of said land but forced to leave it unattended because of the turmoil in the Kashmir valley which uprooted Kashmir Pandit Community therefrom. An unattended land/property of the Kashmiri Pandit Migrant in Kashmir was meant to be protected by none else than the State of J&K and its authorities but in the case of the petitioners, their unattended land measuring 2.7 kanals under khasra (Survey) No. 1318/338 was seized to be usurped by none else than the Education Department of the Government of the then State of J&K in utter disregard to the ownership of the said land being that of the petitioners.

2. Thus, the State and its officials facilitated usurpation of the petitioners ’ said land by indulgence of the Education Department which resulted in coming up of a Jawahar Navodaya Vidayala School at the site of the petitioners’ land leaving the petitioners deprived of their own land with the possession being held by the Jawahar Navodaya Vidayala School no more than in the capacity of a rank trespasser prompted by the State and its officials.

3. The petitioners at the time of filing of the writ petition were 75 years and 60 years old respectively and during the pendency of this writ petition, the petitioner No. 1 has left for his heavenly abode without seeing solace of the settlement of his grievance with respect to his said land property getting restored to him or compensation coming in his favour. This case cannot admit of status quo proceedings as going on in the case and that would be compounding the injustice happening to the petitioners unabated.

4. On behalf of the respondents No. 1 & 2 i.e. Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Revenue Department, Civil Secretariat, Srinagar and the Deputy Commissioner (Collector), District Anantnag, the reply has been submitted which does not dispute the fact of ownership of the petitioner s’ qua land measuring 2.7 kanals under khasra (Survey) No. 1318/338 in village Logripura, tehsil Pahalgam, district Anantnag and the same being in the use and occupation of the Jawahar Navodaya Vidayala School which is run by the respondents No. 3 & 4 who have so far not come forward with the reply/response to the writ petition.

5. A last and final opportunity is afforded to the respondents No. 3 & 4 to file reply to the writ petition, failing which the respondents No. 3 & 4 shall suffer a direction for vacation of land of the petitioners as being the only inevitable outcome of the writ petition leaving no scope for contemplating compensation component payable in favour of the petitioners which would take another stretch of time to get resolved leaving the petitioner No. 2 who is still alive also to follow his brother the petitioner No. 1 by departure from this world. This Court cannot be privy to set state of things to stay in status quo unending when doing justice is a call mandated upon a constitutional court.

6. In the meantime, the petitioners acting with an abundant caution have come up with an application CM No. 2884/2024 seeking impleadment of the Education Department and Chief Education Officer, Anantnag as the respondents No. 5 & 6 in the context of the case it is at the prompting of the Chief Education Officer, Anantnang of the time that the petitioners’ land was picked to be occupied by the Jawahar Navodaya Vidayala School Establishment. The application is allowed.

7. The Commissioner/Secretary School Education Department Government of India UT of J&K and Chief Education Officer, Anantnag are hereby impleaded as the respondents No. 5 & 6 in the writ petition.

8. Issue notice to the newly impleaded respondents No. 5 & 6.

9. Ms. Saliq