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Allahabad High Court has given a very important decision in the famous 48 Bigha tribal land case in Baghadu village under Duddhi tehsil of Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh. The court has clearly refused to interfere in the punitive action taken by the district administration on illegal transfer of the concerned land. The High Court has completely upheld the previous orders given by Deputy Collector Duddhi and has given green signal to the administrative machinery for further legal action. After this major judicial decision, the protection of rights of the tribal community at the local level has got legal strength and the process of vesting the land in the account of Gram Sabha or State Government has speeded up.
This entire dispute was related to the purchase and sale of about 48 bighas of land located in Baghadu area of Duddhi tehsil. Internal investigation of the Revenue Department revealed the fact that the land of tribal families was purchased flouting the rules with the help of fake or dubious caste certificates. Under the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code and Tribal Land Conservation Rules, a non-tribal person cannot buy the land of a tribal without the prior permission of the competent authority i.e. the District Magistrate. In this case, the land was registered through separate deeds in the name of Razia alias Dulariya and Nanhki alias Naimunnisha. A detailed investigation by the administration revealed that these documents were completely against the prescribed procedures and provisions of the law.
During in-depth investigation of the case, it was revealed that a Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate was issued in the name of Razia alias Dulariya in the year 2012. Tribal land registration was done with the help of this certificate. When the complaint of the matter arose, the District Level Caste Certificate Verification Committee conducted a thorough investigation of old revenue records, original documents of the family, statements of local witnesses and historical evidence. The investigation proved that the beneficiary was not actually eligible for Scheduled Tribe category as per the rules, after which the verification committee canceled the ST certificate issued in 2012 with immediate effect. As soon as the certificates were cancelled, the legal validity of the land registry automatically ended and the administration declared these deeds void and started the process of taking the land under government control.
On the other hand, a legal dispute had also arisen regarding the land purchased by Nanhki alias Naimunnisha. Nanhki had justified his registry by declaring himself to be a Bhuiyan Scheduled Tribe by birth and had challenged the order of cancellation of land by Deputy Collector Duddhi in the Allahabad High Court. It was argued on behalf of the petitioner that she belonged to the tribal background, hence the ban on purchasing land as a non-tribal should not apply to her. However, during the hearing in the High Court, the petitioner completely failed to present any concrete and irrefutable evidence of her continuous tribal identity and active association with the society.
Allahabad High Court made clear comments on a very important legal point during the hearing. The court clarified that although merely converting a person’s religion does not automatically result in the loss of a person’s statutory status as a Scheduled Tribe, it is essential to prove that the person is genuinely connected to his tribal identity, the distinctive traditions, customs and social fabric of his community of origin. The main question before the court was whether the buyer was able to prove his tribal identity at the time of purchase of the land. The court, after examining the facts and evidence on record in its entirety, found that the purchase of land was not in accordance with the legal provisions, therefore, there is no legal scope for any interference in the order given by Deputy Collector Duddhi.
As soon as this decision of the High Court came, the administrative machinery in Sonbhadra has become fully active. The district administration has clearly indicated that illegal encroachment will be removed from this 48 bigha disputed land and it will be used for public welfare purposes. As per the administrative plan, this land can be used for construction of public playground, community health centre, Panchayat building or other government public welfare projects. The administration says that in this natural wealth and tribal dominated border district, any attempt by land mafia to illegally occupy tribal land will not be tolerated.
After this judicial decision, political activity has also intensified in the district. Local BJP District President Nandlal Gupta linked this entire episode to the illegal transfer of land of the tribal community and accused it of ‘land jihad’ and has also raised the demand for a high-level inquiry into other lands grabbed through fake documents across the district. However, legal experts believe that the High Court’s decision is not based on any political rhetoric, but on the solid basis of the legal process of land transfer, validity of evidence and cancellation of fake documents.
This strict stance of Allahabad High Court has created panic among the land mafias engaged in buying and selling of tribal lands in the entire Vindhya and Purvanchal region. With the approval of the court on the order of Deputy Collector Duddhi, a clear message has been sent that the people who violate the rights of tribals by ignoring the rules will be dealt with strictly. Now the district administration is preparing to take physical possession of 48 bighas of land, secure it completely in the revenue records and carry forward the investigation into other links involved in illegal buying and selling.