SRINAGAR: The High Court has ruled in favor of the Ministry of Defence, Union of India, in a dispute over a significant piece of land located on Gupkar Road, Sonwar, Srinagar. The Nazool Department’s claim to the land has been rejected by the court.
The case involved Assistant Commissioner, Nazool, Srinagar, issuing eviction notices to the successors of Ram Nath Chopra, who had been given a lease on the land in 1907. The court found that the land in question, known as Raghunath Villa, was transferred to the control of the Military Department under Maharaja Hari Singh’s Command Order in 1939.
Subsequently, through an agreement in 1956 between the President of India and the erstwhile State of J&K, all properties and assets related to the J&K State Forces, including the land-in-question, were vested in the Union of India.
The petitioner, Vikram Chopra, who is the original lease holder’s successor, argued that he had a lease agreement with the Defence Estates Officer Cantonment Board in 1968 and had been in possession of the property for over a century, using it for residential purposes.
After considering the arguments and examining the records, Justice Tashi Rabstan concluded that the land, including Raghunath Villa, had been transferred to the Military Department in 1939 and then to the Union of India in 1956. Therefore, the eviction notices issued by the Nazool Department were legally incorrect and baseless.
The court highlighted that the land had been under the Army’s possession even before September 1, 1949, and, as per the 1956 agreement, it was deemed to be vested in the Union of India. Consequently, the Nazool Department had no rights over the property, and the Ministry of Defence held ownership rights.
The judgment noted that the petitioners had been paying house tax and electricity charges to the Cantonment Board, further indicating that the land fell under the jurisdiction of the Cantonment Board and was owned by the Ministry of Defence.
In light of these findings, the court questioned the authority of the Assistant Commissioner, Nazool, to issue eviction notices to the petitioners, given that the land had already been transferred to the Ministry of Defence under lawful agreements and orders.
