The Supreme Court’s decision on land eviction brought relief to countless poor families

The Honorable Supreme Court’s decision regarding encroachment on government land has brought relief to millions of poor and marginalized families in Himachal Pradesh. Senior Supreme Court advocate Naresh Kumar Tomar, speaking exclusively, revealed that he had filed a petition in the Supreme Court, Ujagar Singh, a resident of Rajgarh Savana, versus the State Government. According to this petition, the land that Ujagar Singh had been cultivating with his family for generations was later found to be owned by the Forest Department. On December 16, 2025, the Honorable Supreme Court delivered its historic decision, not to evict families encroaching on government land. This has brought relief to families living on government land across the state. In this regard, the Supreme Court directed the Himachal Pradesh government to formulate a policy to regularize the land encroached by families whose livelihoods depend solely on encroached land.
Advocate Naresh Kumar Tomar stated that the first petition regarding encroachment on government land was filed in the Honorable High Court, Shimla, in 2014. Subsequently, another petition was filed on the same issue in 2015. Both petitions were settled by the Honorable High Court in 2018, and the state government was directed to formulate a concrete policy regarding encroachment. However, neither government took any effective steps in this direction, and the threat of eviction loomed over poor families living on government land, causing significant stress. The advocate stated that if such families living on government land were evicted, countless families across the state would have been forced onto the streets. This decision by the Honorable Supreme Court has brought relief to millions of poor and marginalized families.
The advocate said that on the orders of the Honourable Supreme Court, the Himachal Government has been forced to make a policy and the government should have a positive thinking in this direction so that no poor and marginal family is evicted.