Himachal High Court Cracks Down on Land Encroachment: Evictions Ordered by July 15
In a firm stand to protect public land, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has ordered the eviction of individuals who have illegally occupied five bighas or more of government land. The directive, issued by a special bench of Justices Vivek Singh Thakur and Bipin Chandra Negi, sets a clear deadline: all such encroachments must be cleared by July 15.
The court made it unequivocally clear—there is no policy in place, nor any plan in the pipeline, to legalize such large-scale encroachments. Any expectations to the contrary, the bench said, are unfounded and have no legal merit.
To ensure swift action, the court instructed the state’s Chief Secretary to proceed with evictions without needing further court approval. Even interim protection orders will not shield encroachers from removal. A compliance report must be submitted to the court by July 21.
The ruling came after three petitions challenged eviction notices in Kumarsain tehsil, where individuals had occupied pasture lands. Petitioners argued that the land was traditionally used and recorded as unprotected forest in revenue documents. However, the court dismissed these claims, stating that customary use cannot override the legal status of government land.
The court also rejected references to a 2017 draft policy and past permissions, calling them legally irrelevant. This judgment sends a strong message across the state: unauthorised occupation of public land will not be tolerated, and no backdoor regularisation will be entertained.
