The Uttarakhand High Court has recently directed a petitioner to make a representation to the Competent Authority regarding encroachment on the evacuee’s property.
According to petitioner, huge tracts of land, belonging to the Ameer of Kabul, who left India at the time of Partition, has been declared evacuee property and the said land, which is situated in the heart of Dehradun City, has been encroached by unscrupulous persons.
Parikshit Saini, the counsel for the petitioner, referred to a judgment dated 15.06.2007 passed by Single Judge of the High Court. The said PIL , filed by alleged encroachers in 1984 before Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court, was allowed and the possession warrant issued by Assistant Custodian, Evacuee Property was quashed and matter was relegated back to Assistant Custodian Evacuee Property to pass appropriate order, as per law, without any unnecessary delay.
The grievance raised by petitioner in the PIL is that despite the order of the High Court passed on 15.6.2007, Assistant Custodian, Evacuee Property has not taken any decision in the pending proceedings, therefore, encroachments are still lying over the evacuee property, left behind by Ameer of Kabul.
Having regard to the public interest involved in the matter, the Division Bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and R.C. Khulbe disposed of the PIL with liberty to petitioner to make representation to the Competent Authority, within three weeks .
“If petitioner makes such representation to the Competent Authority, he shall look into the matter and take appropriate decision, as per law, as early as possible, but not later than three months from the date of production of certified copy of this order along with representation,” the order reads.