SC says encroachers have no legal right to occupy railway land in Haldwani

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 24 February, said encroachers of railway land in Haldwani in Uttarakhand do not have a vested legal right to be there, indicating that over 5,000 families will have to vacate the disputed land for the proposed expansion project.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted that the dispute over the land has traversed different courts and observed that the stalemate over encroached railway land cannot be allowed to continue endlessly.

The court directed the Centre and the state authorities to ascertain the eligibility of families residing in the area for Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana (PMAY).

The dispute concerns roughly 30 acres around the Haldwani railway station, with approximately 4,365 houses inhabited by over 5,000 families, predominantly Muslims, who have lived in the area for decades. These residents claim long-term occupation, some possess sale or lease deeds, and the area includes homes, schools, places of worship, and other public institutions

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioners who are residents of the area, submitted that they have been staying in the area, which falls in and around the Haldwani railway station, for four to five decades.

He said that the state government had earlier said that they would regularise the area but nothing was done.

Justice Bagchi said, "It is a public land or to say it is railway land, a fact which is not in dispute. You cannot claim it as a right to be there. You are getting a concession because the authorities slept over the illegalities for years."

Bhushan said not all land was required for the expansion project. CJI Kant said that the court cannot ask the railways to shift the project as it is for the experts to do so.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, said an expansion project was needed for the railways as hills start from Haldwani upwards. A retaining wall protecting the tracks had fallen in 2023 during the monsoon season.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing in April.

(With agency inputs)