An LRC cannot be cancelled or treated as surrendered without a reasonable hearing.

The petitioners challenged the cancellation of their Land Rights Certificates (LRCs), alleging that they had not been given an opportunity to be heard

The State submitted that they were ineligible as slum dwellers because they had acquired private land, and that Petitioner No. 1 was the elected Vice-Chairman of Dhenkanal Municipality

The notice stated that the petitioners had surrendered their LRCs and that a demand draft for ₹59,184 had been issued as a refund; the petitioners disputed that the surrender was voluntary

The High Court considered whether the LRCs could be cancelled or treated as surrendered without first providing the petitioners an opportunity to respond

1. Whether the petitioners were entitled to a reasonable opportunity to respond before their LRCs were cancelled or treated as surrendered

2. Whether the Court should restore the LRCs or instead direct the authority to reconsider the matter after hearing the petitioners

The Court considered the Orissa Land Rights to Slum Dwellers Act, 2017.

Under the Act’s definition discussed by the Court, a “slum dweller” is a landless person occupying land within a slum area.

Section 6 provides that a slum dweller whose land is settled under the Act must not hold another land-rights certificate in an urban area of the State and must surrender any such certificate as prescribed.

The Court also applied the principle of natural justice that a right or privilege granted by an authority should not ordinarily be withdrawn unilaterally without a reasonable opportunity to be heard.

The record indicated that Petitioner No. 1 held recorded homestead land, and the notice cited the petitioners’ land purchases and his municipal office as grounds for ineligibility.

The Court noted, however, that the notice did not show that the petitioners had been heard before the LRCs were cancelled.

Nor did the notice’s reference to surrender and refund establish that the surrender was voluntary.

Although the petitioners’ eligibility and the effect of acquiring land were relevant to the statutory inquiry, the authority was required to provide an opportunity to respond before deciding the cancellation or surrender issue.

It directed the competent authority to provide the petitioners a reasonable and effective opportunity to respond on the surrender of the LRCs and then decide the matter within fifteen days of receiving the order.

The petitioners were directed to contact and cooperate with the authority.