Delhi High Court Initiates Suo Motu PIL Over Lack Of Property Mutation Policy For Urbanized Villages

The Delhi High Court has initiated a suo motu PIL over the issue of lack of policy for mutation of properties regarding the villages which have been notified as “urbanized” by land the authorities in the national capital.

A division bench comprising of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said there is complete absence of any law or policy whereby rights of mutation can be availed by the residents of villages in case of such lands being notified as 'development areas' under Section 12 of the Delhi Development Authority Act, 1957.

“The absence of a documentation mechanism by land-owning agencies post-urbanization disproportionately affects the urban poor. Lack of formal property rights evidence prevents access to credit facility for construction and renovation to benefits from government schemes or participation in land pooling policy of the Delhi Government,” the court said.

It added that such a “legal vacuum” disabling the villagers from managing their immovable properties prima facie violates their fundamental right under Article 21 and constitutional right under Article 300A of the Constitution of India.

Observing that the issue needs to be addressed at the earliest by the concerned departments, the court issued notice to the following authorities- Delhi Government, L&DO, Ministry of Urban Development, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Development Authority and Member Secretary of Delhi State Legal Services Authority.

The development came after Supreme Court judge, Justice Sanjiv Khanna along with ACJ Manmohan visited Jaunti Village in North West Delhi pursuant to an event organized by DSLSA on August 10 focused upon addressing the multifaceted challenges faced by the remote and underdeveloped areas of Delhi.

Upon interaction with the judges, the villagers rajsed concerns regarding the difficulties faced by them pertaining to mutation in the land records.

They said that they wished to get their immovable properties, inherited from their ancestors, mutated in their names in the land records as per law. The villagers claimed they had applied for mutations of inherited properties with all necessary documents but faced delays despite persistent efforts over the years.

“The only response they have received from the concerned government agencies is that since the village has been urbanized under Section 507(a) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 (hereinafter referred to as the 'DMC Act'), the mutation of properties in the land records had been halted by the Government of NCT of Delhi. This applies to several other villages in Delhi also with no alternative mechanism provided for addressing grievances,” the court said.

The court noted that as per a notification issued in 2019, the Delhi Government's Revenue Department ceased to maintain land records pertaining to urbanized areas as the concerned village or villages ceased to be a part of 'rural areas' under the DMC Act and were included in the 'urban areas'.

The matter will now be heard on October25.

Title: COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION v. L&DO, MINISTRY OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT & ORS.

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 974

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