Karnataka HC Quashes PTCL Land Resumption Over 18-Year Delay, Directs Purchaser’s Name Restored In Revenue Records

The land had been granted to the original grantee in 1934.

A portion was sold in 1995, and the petitioner purchased 1 acre 14 guntas in 2004.

Resumption proceedings were initiated in 2013.

The Assistant Commissioner ordered resumption on 20 January 2022, and the Deputy Commissioner affirmed that order on 17 August 2024.

The petitioner challenged both orders, including on the ground of delay.

The Court considered the principles governing resumption under the PTCL Act and stated that delay and laches are a primary consideration in restoration proceedings; action initiated after a significant delay may be barred by laches.

The Court referred to a Division Bench clarification on that principle but did not identify the precedent by name.

No specific provision of the Act or other precedent was cited in the order.

The authorities ordered resumption without considering that proceedings began nearly 18 years after the 1995 sale, or the petitioner’s contention that they were unreasonably delayed.

Because the sale had settled rights in the land and delay was a relevant consideration under the stated laches principle, the Court held that the authorities’ failure to address it rendered their orders unsustainable.

It directed the concerned authority to mutate or restore the petitioner’s name in the revenue records for 1 acre 14 guntas.