Order on Board

1. The petitioner has filed this writ petition seeking following reliefs :

“10.1 That, Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondent authorities to comply the order dated 17.07.2017, whereby the order has been passed for removal of the illegal encroachment.

10.2 Any other relief which this Hon'ble Court deems fit and proper may also be passed in favour of the petitioner together with cost of the petition.”

2. Facts of the case, as projected in the petition, are that the petitioner is the recorded owner and in possession of land bearing Khasra No. 281/2, admeasuring 0.320 hectare, situated at Village Khapri, P.H. No. 27, Tehsil Takhatpur, District Bilaspur. The ownership and title of the petitioner over the said land are duly reflected in the revenue records. The petitioner, being a lawful owner, has been utilizing the said land and is entitled to peaceful access and enjoyment thereof. It is the case of the petitioner that respondent No. 5 has illegally encroached upon a public pathway leading to the petitioner’s land by raising unauthorized constructions, including a lavatory and a godown. Due to such encroachment over the public way, the petitioner has been effectively deprived of ingress and egress to her own land, thereby causing serious hardship and obstruction in the use and enjoyment of the property. Aggrieved by the said illegal encroachment, the petitioner approached the competent revenue authority by filing an application under Section 248 of the Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code before the Tahsildar on 27.12.2016. Upon receipt of the application, a Panchnama and spot inspection report were prepared by the concerned authorities, which confirmed the existence of encroachment by respondent No. 5 over the public land. Consequently, the Tehsildar issued notice to respondent No. 5 for removal of the encroachment and further proceeded to issue a Bedakhali warrant for eviction. Despite the aforesaid proceedings and issuance of eviction warrant by the competent authority, the encroachment has not been removed till date. The petitioner, left with no alternative, made repeated representations to higher authorities, including applications submitted before the Collector on 30.08.2019 and again on 17.03.2021, requesting intervention and enforcement of the orders passed by the Tehsildar. However, no effective action has been taken by the authorities concerned, and the grievance of the petitioner remains unaddressed.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the inaction on the part of the respondent authorities is arbitrary, illegal, and contrary to the provisions of the Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code. It is contended that once the competent authority, after due inquiry, has recorded a finding of encroachment and has even issued a Bedakhali warrant, the authorities are under a legal obligation to ensure its execution. The continued failure to remove the encroachment amounts to dereliction of statutory duty. It is further submitted that the petitioner is an elderly lady who intends to sell her land; however, due to the illegal obstruction caused by respondent No. 5 over the public pathway, access to the land has been completely blocked. This has rendered the property commercially unviable and has caused grave prejudice and financial hardship to the petitioner. Learned counsel also contends that despite repeated approaches and representations made to the Collector and other authorities, no action has been taken, which reflects administrative apathy and violation of the petitioner’s legal rights. The petitioner cannot be left remediless in the face of such blatant inaction, particularly when the encroachment stands duly established in official proceedings. It is also argued that it is a settled principle of law, as consistently held by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, that public land and pathways cannot be encroached upon and that the State and its authorities are duty-bound to rem