Only agriculturalists can purchase land in Himachal Pradesh: SC

The Supreme Court emphasised that the whole purpose of Section 118 of the 1972 Act is to protect agriculturists with small holdings and stressed that the government is expected to examine requests for transfer of land by others on the basis of the facts of every case

NEW DELHI: Only agriculturists engaged in cultivation can purchase land in Himachal Pradesh, the Supreme Court has said, adding that others will need a prior permission of the state government to purchase land in the Himalayan state.

The Supreme Court said a person who is not an agriculturist can only purchase land in Himachal Pradesh with the permission of the state government, (HT File Photo)

Citing the relevant provisions in the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act 1972, a bench of justices PS Narasimha and Sudhanshu Dhulia highlighted the objective behind the legislative proscription. “The purpose is to save the small agricultural holding of poor persons and also to check the rampant conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes,” it underscored.

A person who is not an agriculturist can only purchase land in Himachal Pradesh with the permission of the state government, said the bench, referring to Section 118 of the Act. “The government is expected to examine from a case-to-case basis whether such permission can be given or not,” it added.

The court’s emphasis on the land laws of the northern state came as it heard a case relating to transfer of an agricultural land for a non-agricultural purpose. The petitioner before the bench was an agriculturist from the state who was assigned the right as the purchaser of two plots of land by a private company. The company had purchased the land for a non-agricultural purpose but after it failed to get an approval of the state government, it assigned the right to the petitioner for executing the sale deed with the seller of the land.

In its judgment, the apex court not only affirmed the high court order but also highlighted the pertinent provisions and the purpose of the 1972 Act.

“Under Section 118 of the 1972 Act, only an agriculturist, which is defined under Section 2(2) of the 1972 Act, can purchase land in Himachal Pradesh, which would mean a landowner who personally cultivates his land in Himachal Pradesh. If a non-agriculturist has to purchase a land, it can only be done with the prior permission of the state government,” recorded the judgment.

“In the present case, it thought it best, not to grant such a permission. However, the purpose of the transfer remains the same, which is a non-agricultural activity. By merely assigning rights to an agriculturist, who will be using the land for a purpose other than agriculture, would defeat the purpose of this Act,” said the bench, putting its stamp of approval on the subordinate court orders refusing the transfer of land.