The petitioner Jitendra Baba
The petitioner Jitendra Baba
Ravindra Rathi. Bahadurgarh
The Supreme Court has banned the use of some 50 million rupees which Gram Panchayat received in compensation for the Institute of Global Nuclear Energy Partnership in Jasourkhedi village some 125 years ago. As an expression of collective rights over the land, the villagers have claimed this amount. The villagers will now claim this with the district collector. His hearing must take place within six months. Until then, the Gram Panchayat or the villagers cannot use this amount.
In fact, the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Institute was established in the village of Jasour Khedi. Approximately 124 acres of 4 Channel 13 Marle land were purchased for this. In this regard, the deed of transfer was completed on September 9, 2011. Instead of this land, the Gram Panchayat received Rs 40 crore 55 lakh 11 thousand 969. While 9 crore 45 lakh 57,000 169 rupees was deposited in the Panchayat’s account as an annual royalty. The then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the Center for Global Nuclear Energy Partnership on January 3, 2014 in Jasour Khedi village. Then-Governor Jagannath Pahadia, then-CM Bhupendra Hooda, MP Deepender Hooda and Energy Commission Director RK Sinha were also present. According to the announcements made at that time, the villagers hoped that their village would also get wings of development in exchange for handing over this land, but nothing like that happened.
Naresh Kumar and Jitendra Baba, residents of Jasaur Khedi village, petitioned the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in 2018 under CWP no. 14979 submitted. In it, the Government of Haryana through the Chief Secretary, the Director of Panchayat Department, the Deputy District Commissioner of Jhajjar, the Subdivisional Officer of Bahadurgarh and the Gram Panchayat through the Sarpanch were involved. The villagers have argued in this petition filed on May 22, 2018 that the land purchased for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Institute was owned jointly by the villagers. The compensation of Rs 40,55,11,969 received instead and the annual license fee of Rs 9,45,57,169 should be distributed among the villagers in proportion to their share. Government lawyers brought up the path of the petition, saying that the collection agency should decide first. The villagers subsequently withdrew their petition but asked the High Court to prohibit the use of that amount.
Bicameral decision of the High Court
A divisional bench of High Court Justices Sureshwar Thakur and Kuldeep Tiwari ruled on 22 March 2023 that the petitioners may make their claim before the Collector under Section 13A of the Haryana Village Common Land Regulation Act 1961. In addition, the collector must resolve this claim within 6 months after hearing all parties. At the same time, the court has ruled that the panchayat or the villagers should not be allowed to use this amount deposited in the banks in the form of FD or in any other form until the collector makes a decision on this claim.
