Aboriginal Tribes Have Right To Development; Their Right In The Property Is Inalienable: Chhattisgarh HC [Read Judgment]

“Their right in property is inalienable right and being   notified aboriginal tribes, they have right to development and come to main stream of the society.”

Aboriginal tribes have right to development, remarked Chhattisgarh High Court while holding that their right in the property is inalienable and their land cannot be auctioned for recovery of loan amount without permission from the Collector.

MP Land Revenue Code prohibits ‘transfer’ of land belonging to an aboriginal tribe, but it does not define the term “transfer”.

Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal, while allowing appeal filed by members of an aboriginal tribe, observed that the 'auction-sale' of land belonging to aboriginal tribe to recover amount of loan, would amount to “transfer” within the meaning of Section 165(6) of the Code.

“Taking the other view of the matter, would deprive the aboriginal to be his title, vesting land in favour of non-aboriginal tribe and the same is void being prohibited by law and even by auction sale in order to recover the amount advanced to the plaintiff, his property could not be sold being expressly forbidden by law and being opposed to public policy within the meaning of Section 23 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872”, the court said.

Reversing the judgments of the lower courts, the court further said: “Their right in property is inalienable right and being   notified ab-original tribes, they have right to development and come to main stream of the society.”

The Court then set aside the judgment holding that it was absolutely unjustified in granting decree in favour of the plaintiff as auction sale of the land belonging to the plaintiff who is notified aboriginal tribe under Section 165(6) of the Code and such auction sale is hit by Section 165(6) of the Code as well as by Section 41-A (5) of the M.P. Cooperative Societies Act, 1960.