The Supreme Court has ordered the West Bengal government to respond to a case of 27 farmers, who are fighting to retain their land against the State’s claim of having acquired it over six decades ago.
Srikanta Charan Kanp, the lead petitioner in the case, told an apex court Bench of Justices A.M. Sapre and Indu Malhotra that his family has been cultivating the land for generations. They got the shock of their life when local authorities summoned them in 2015 and told them that the 35 acres they were farming at Guria village in Purba Medinipur district was not theirs but belonged to the State Public Works Department (PWD).
The authorities claimed there was an acquisition proceeding under the West Bengal Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1948, about 67 years ago, when Kanp and his co-petitioners were mere children. The land was turned over to the government for a “brick field”. It was then, years later, vested with the PWD.
Mr. Kanp told the Bench about their desperate search for “scraps” of information about this acquisition. He said the farmers had to search their homes for any documents or records about such an acquisition as the, “State authority failed to produce any document in support of the completion of the acquisition proceeding, including the passing of the award and payment of compensation.” Finally, when their search drew a blank and the authorities resorted to force to evict them, the farmers approached the courts.
The Calcutta High Court, however, in September this year, concluded that the farmers had woke up too late. The HC said the State had duly notified the acquisition in the gazette published in 1950, the record of rights had changed, and the acquisition proceedings had culminated in an award.
In their appeal before the apex court, the farmers argued that neither did the State take possession of their land nor was any compensation paid to them. If the acquisition had happened during the time of their fathers or grandfathers, the subsequent generations had continued to inherit and hold the land as its owners.
“Though acquisition proceeding [was] initiated 67 years back for the purpose of [a] brick field but not possession was taken by the Land Acquisition Collector and no award was passed and no compensation was paid as per statute hence said proceeding has been lapsed by operation of law,” the petition contended.
“Petitioner’s father and forefathers were owners of the land in question… After the expiry of their father and forefathers, they have become the owners of the respective plots of land by way of inheritance, and they are in possession and cultivating the said land in question since, long without any interruption from any corner,” it said.
The farmers argued that the handing over of the land to the PWD was, “absolutely illegal” and sought that it be set aside. irregular, arbitrary, mala fide and motivated and, as a result, the said impugned vesting order is liable to be cancelled and/or set aside.”
Recently, in a separate writ petition filed by activist Medha Patkar, the court decided to examine the legality of amendments brought in by the Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra, Telangana and Jharkhand governments, which allegedly allow forcible acquisition of land for both private and public infrastructure projects in alleged violation of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in the Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013.
Ms. Patkar argued that the States’ amendments “emasculate” the spirit and legislative intent of the 2013 Act to give farmers and land owners a complete say in the acquisition and compensation for loss of land.