GG News Bureau
Prayagraj, 11th Sept. The Allahabad High Court has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on the Catholic Diocese of Gorakhpur and the Uttar Pradesh government for wrongfully seizing land belonging to a villager, Bhola Singh, and depriving him and his legal heirs of its use for over 32 years.
The court ruled that both the diocese and the state government are jointly responsible for the cost, which must be paid equally by each party.
Justice Kshitij Shailendra, who delivered the verdict on Tuesday, stated, “The action of the state as well as the appellant did not have any legal sanction and amounted to grabbing the land of a rustic villager and committing trespass. Therefore, the appeal deserves to be dismissed with a heavy cost.”
The case involved a dispute over a plot of land in Gorakhpur, which Singh had claimed was wrongfully leased to the diocese by the state government. The diocese argued that Singh had transferred the land to the state during a land ceiling process and that the state subsequently leased it to the diocese for a hospital construction.
The court found that state records indicated only a portion of the land belonging to another co-owner was transferred, not Singh’s portion. It criticized the state for failing to produce proper documentation and declared that the lease of Singh’s land to the diocese was unauthorized.
Singh, who passed away during the course of the legal proceedings, had originally contested the lease, alleging that the state and the diocese had unlawfully encroached on his land and threatened him to begin construction.
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