A pending regularisation application does not bar lawful eviction from Government land.

The petitioners claimed possession and cultivation of portions of Government land bearing Survey No. 42/1/1 at Village Mehtakhedi, Tehsil Barwaha, District Khargone, allegedly for more than 40 years.

They had submitted applications before the Tehsildar under the M.P. Krishi Prayojan Ke Liye Upyog Ki Ja Rahi Dakhal Rahit Bhoomi Par Bhoomiswami Adhikaron Ka Pradan Kiya Jana (Vishesh Upbandh) Adhiniyam, 1984, seeking conferment of Bhumiswami rights.

During the pendency of those applications, eviction notices dated 18 August 2026 were issued in proceedings under Section 248 of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959.

The State opposed the petition, contending that the land was Government land reserved as Gochar grazing land, that the Section 248 proceedings had culminated in a final order, and that the petitioners’ claim of possession since before 1979 was disputed.

Whether the pendency of the petitioners’ applications for conferment of Bhumiswami rights under the 1984 Adhiniyam barred the State from taking action under Section 248 of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959.

Whether the petitioners were entitled to protection of their possession and cultivation pending determination of their applications for conferment of Bhumiswami rights.

Whether the Tehsildar should be directed to decide the petitioners’ pending applications in accordance with law.

The Court applied Article 226 of the Constitution of India, under which judicial interference is discretionary and requires the petitioner to establish a legally enforceable right or an illegality warranting writ relief.

It considered Section 248 of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959, authorising proceedings against unauthorised occupation of Government land.

The Court also considered the M.P. Krishi Prayojan Ke Liye Upyog Ki Ja Rahi Dakhal Rahit Bhoomi Par Bhoomiswami Adhikaron Ka Pradan Kiya Jana (Vishesh Upbandh) Adhiniyam, 1984, under which eligibility for conferment of Bhumiswami rights depends upon satisfaction of the statutory requirements, including the asserted requirement of continuous possession prior to 1979.

The governing principle applied was that a mere pending application for conferment of rights does not, by itself, create a valid right to possess Government land or prevent the competent authority from taking action in accordance with law.

The Court noted that the land was admittedly Government land and that the petitioners did not presently possess any established or valid legal right to occupy it.

Their reliance on the 1984 Adhiniyam and the pending applications did not automatically suspend the Section 248 proceedings or confer interim protection.

The petitioners’ claim of possession for more than 40 years, including possession before 1979, was disputed by the State, and the receipt produced by them did not conclusively connect the payment with the subject survey number.

Accordingly, the Court declined to grant a stay of the eviction notices or a direction protecting possession.

Nevertheless, considering the circumstances, it directed the Tehsildar to determine the applications on their merits, following the procedure prescribed by law and considering the material on record.

The petition was disposed of without granting the prayers for stay, protection against dispossession, or interference with the eviction proceedings.

Respondent No. 3, the Tehsildar, was directed to decide the petitioners’ applications for conferment of Bhumiswami rights in accordance with law, as expeditiously as possible and preferably within four weeks from receipt of a certified copy of the order.