The Supreme Court on April 06, 2022 in the matter of Sukh Dutt Ratra vs State of Himachal Pradesh, observed that forcible dispossession of private property of a person without following due process of law, is violative of both their human right and constitutional right.

In the instant case, Sukh Dutt Ratra and Bhagat Ram claimed to be owners of land which was utilized for the construction of the ‘Narag Fagla Road’ in 1972-73. They filed a writ petition before the High Court of Himachal Pradesh in 2011, seeking compensation for the subject land or initiation of acquisition proceedings under the Act. They alleged that no land acquisition proceedings were initiated, nor compensation given to them or owners of the adjoining land. The High Court disposed of this writ petition, with liberty to file a civil suit in accordance with law. Before the Apex Court, the appellants contended that the State had illegally usurped their lands, without following due process of law.

The Bench observed –

“The State cannot shield itself behind the ground of delay and laches in such a situation; there cannot be a ‘limitation’ to doing justice… In the absence of written consent to voluntarily give up their land, the appellants were entitled to compensation in terms of law.”

The Apex Court therefore disposed the appeals by making following observations and directions:

“Concluding that the forcible dispossession of a person of their private property without following due process of law was violative of both their human right, and constitutional right under Article 300-A, this court allowed the appeal. In view of the above discussion, in view of this court’s extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 136 and 142 of the Constitution, the State is hereby directed to treat the subject lands as a deemed acquisition and appropriately disburse compensation to the appellants”.