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Shamlat land grab case: Punjab rural development secretary gets HC notice
Punjab rural development secretary got HC notice as to why proceedings for contempt be not initiated against him for violation of October 28 order in a shamlat land grab case in Chandigarh periphery
The Punjab and Haryana high court has issued a show-cause notice to the secretary, Department of Rural Development, Punjab, as to why proceedings for contempt be not initiated against him for violation of October 28 order in an alleged land grab of shamlat land in Chandigarh periphery.
The high court bench of justice AG Masih and justice Sandeep Moudgil has sought a response by November 22.
On October 28 the high court had given seven days’ time to appoint commissioners for the purpose.
However, it came before the court that the panel had been sent to the personnel department on November 12, but nothing had been done.
The court observed that the explanation is totally unacceptable. “We find that inaction on the part of the respondent-state appears to be intentional and deliberate with an intention not to comply with the order passed by this court,” the court said.
The matter pertains to land-grab cases of village common land and forestland in villages of Mohali district. It is alleged that influential people grabbed land in Nayagaon and other nearby villages.
In 2013, the high court had appointed a commission headed by Justice Kuldip Singh, a former Supreme Court judge. In the reports given, it had named several politicians, police officers and bureaucrats, who had grabbed panchayat land. The tribunal had scanned records of 38 villages and submitted reports highlighting the murky deals. As per rough estimates, nearly 25,000 acres were illegally occupied in Mohali.
