Karnataka HC Rejects Bid To Resume Granted Land After Proceedings Began 33 Years After Sale

The land was granted to the original grantee in 1963 and sold in 1972.

Resumption proceedings under the PTCL Act were initiated in 2005.

The Assistant Commissioner ordered resumption, but the Deputy Commissioner set that order aside on appeal, finding that the proceedings had been initiated after substantial delay.

The petitioner challenged the Deputy Commissioner’s order by writ petition.

The Court considered the PTCL Act in the context of proceedings to resume land granted to a person belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.

It applied the principle that delay and laches in initiating resumption proceedings may justify declining relief; no specific statutory provision or precedent was identified as the basis of the decision.

The Court noted the decisions cited by respondents 4 to 6 but stated that each case turns on its own facts.

The sale occurred in 1972, but resumption proceedings were not initiated until 2005—approximately 33 years after the sale and 26 years after the PTCL Act came into force.

The Court held that the Assistant Commissioner ought to have considered this delay and that the Deputy Commissioner was justified in setting aside the resumption order on that basis.

Finding no ground to interfere, the Court dismissed the writ petition.

The writ petition was dismissed for lack of merit; any interim order stood discharged and pending interlocutory applications were disposed of.