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2026 Supreme(Online)(SC) 283

ITEM NO.66 COURT NO.6 SECTION XVII-B S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (C) Nos.5267-5268/2026 [Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 14-01-2026 in WPPIL No. 2078/2018 and order dated 28-01-2026 in WPPIL No. 2078/2018 passed by the High Court of Jharkhand at Ranchi]
PREETI AGARWAL Petitioner(s)
VERSUS RAKESH KUMAR JHA & ORS. Respondent(s)
(IA No. 38848/2026 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT & IA No. 38847/2026 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T.)
WITH Diary No.7249/2026 (XVII-B)
IA No. 38733/2026 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT, IA No. 38723/2026 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T. AND IA No. 38730/2026 - PERMISSION TO FILE SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION)
Date : 06-02-2026 These matters were called on for hearing today.
CORAM :
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE J.B. PARDIWALA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP MEHTA For Petitioner(s) :
Mr. M R Shamshad, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Shashank Singh, AOR Mr. Abu Bakr Sabbaq, Adv.
Mr. Arijit Sarkar, Adv.
Ms. Prapti Shrivastava, Adv.
Ms. Sneha Chandna, Adv.
Mr. Amit Kumar Singh, Adv.
Mr. Anupam Lal Das, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Sameer Jain, Adv.
Mr. Himesh Thakur, Adv.
Mr. Syed Fazl Askari, Adv.
Mr. Vaibhav Mishra, Adv.
Signa ture No t Ve rifi ed Mr. Syed Moosa, Adv.
Digita lly s ign ed b y Ms. Radha Gupta, Adv.
VISHAL ANAND Date: 2026.02.07
13:00: 15 IST Mr. Tenzen Tashi Negi, AOR Reason:
For Respondent(s) :
UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following

Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Mr. M R Shamshad, Sr. Adv., Mr. Shashank Singh, AOR, Mr. Abu Bakr Sabbaq, Adv., Mr. Arijit Sarkar, Adv., Ms. Prapti Shrivastava, Adv., Ms. Sneha Chandna, Adv., Mr. Amit Kumar Singh, Adv., Mr. Anupam Lal Das, Sr. Adv., Mr. Sameer Jain, Adv., Mr. Himesh Thakur, Adv., Mr. Syed Fazl Askari, Adv., Mr. Vaibhav Mishra, Adv.
For the Respondents: Mr. Tenzen Tashi Negi, AOR

Right to be heard is fundamental before state action affecting property rights.

Headnote:The Supreme Court addressed the appeal from the High Court's order directing action based on a Committee's Report, emphasizing that the petitioners were not given an opportunity to be heard, leading to potential prejudice. The Court determined the necessity of maintaining the status-quo regarding the petitioners' constructions until further notice.

Table of Content
1. court's review of committee's action and necessity of a hearing. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6)
2. right to a hearing before adverse action. (Para 7 , 8)
3. maintenance of status-quo regarding construction. (Para 9)

ORDER

1. Heard the learned Senior counsel appearing for the petitioners.

2. Application seeking permission to file the Special Leave Petition is granted in Diary No.7249/2026.

3. Exemption Applications are allowed.

4. Issue notice.

5. Tag Special Leave Petition(Civil) Nos. 5222-5223/2026 with Special Leave Petition(Civil) No. 4820-4821/2026 and the other connected cases.

6. By the impugned order dated 14th January, 2026, the High Court directed the State Administration to take appropriate action on the basis of the Report submitted by a Committee of three Advocates. Subsequent thereto, applications were filed by a large number of residents of the concerned area seeking appropriate directions, which were dismissed by a detailed order on 28th January, 2026. Thereafter, another set of applications was moved by a separate set/group of residents of the area, which were dismissed on 29th January, 2026. The two orders dated 14.01.2026 and 28.01.2026 respectively are under challenge in the present matters.

7. It is submitted that while passing the order dated 14th January, 2026 on the basis of the Committee’s Report, the petitioners were never afforded an opportunity of hearing by the Committee and, therefore, any order directing removal of their constructions would cause grave/great prejudice and hardship to the petitioners, as they would be dispossessed without being granted an opportunity of hearing.

8. It is further submitted that the petitioners were not made/impleaded parties in the pending Writ Petition bearing W.P. (PIL) No. 2078 of 2018, wherein the order dated 14th January, 2026 was passed.

9. We, accordingly, provide that in the meantime, status-quo shall be maintained with regard to construction qua the petitioners only.

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