The Himachal Pradesh high court has directed the state government to initiate land acquisition proceedings and pay adequate compensation to a landowner whose six bighas of land in Sirmaur district were used for road construction in 2008 without formal acquisition or payment.
Rejecting the state’s contentions, the court observed that one co-owner cannot surrender or relinquish the rights of other joint owners by issuing an NOC without their authorisation. On the question of ownership, the court noted that revenue records established the petitioner’s status as a legal heir to the property following his mother’s death in 2005. His name, however, was inadvertently omitted during a revenue mutation in 2009.
The court held that the petitioner was a rightful co-owner when the land was utilised for road construction and was, therefore, entitled to have his claim considered in accordance with law.
Directing the authorities to expedite the process, the HC asked them to follow the principles laid down by the Supreme Court and earlier HC judgments concerning delayed land acquisition and the rights of landowners to compensation.
