After 28 years, Punjab & Haryana HC rules village common land belongs to proprietors, not municipal body

The original plaintiff, Atma Ram, who died during the prolonged litigation, was represented through legal heirs. The landowners had sought a permanent injunction restraining the municipal committee from interfering with their ownership rights over the disputed land.

The trial court dismissed the suit in 1993 and the first appellate court upheld the dismissal in 1997, prompting the second appeal (RSA-3434-1997) that remained pending for over two decades.

Relying on the full-bench judgment of the high court in Suraj Bhan and others v. State of Haryana and another (2017), Justice Aggarwal quoted, “The ‘Jumla Mushtarka Malkan’ lands are distinct and separate from the ‘shamlat deh’ lands. The ownership and title of the ‘Jumla Mushtarka Malkan’ lands… vest in the proprietary body of the village and not in the Panchayat; however, the management and control of these lands vest in the Panchayats.”

The court clarified that the gram panchayat, and later the municipal committee of Hoshiarpur (after the 1989 notification merging the village), enjoyed only management rights. It could continue to auction the land and use the income for village welfare, but could not claim ownership.

The bench also quashed a 1995 order passed by the consolidation officer allotting part of the land to individual villagers, ruling that the officer lacked jurisdiction while civil courts were already seized of the dispute.

Timeline of the case
• 27 January 1989 — Khawaspur village merged into the Hoshiarpur municipal committee (Notification Ex.D-8)
• 24 December 1993 — Trial court dismisses the suit of proprietors
• 09 March 1995 — Consolidation officer passes controversial order allotting part of land to individuals
• 28 August 1997 — First appellate court dismisses the appeal of proprietors
• 1997 — RSA-3434-1997 and CWP-2548-1997 filed in Punjab & Haryana High Court
• 11 November 2025 — Hearing reserved by Justice Virinder Aggarwal
• 18 November 2025 — Final judgment pronounced
• 19 November 2025 — Judgment uploaded on high court website

(The second appeal remained pending in the high court for over 28 years.)

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