Municipality Must Decide Shop Occupants’ Representation by a Reasoned Order Without Prejudging Their Claims.

The petitioners challenged proposed dispossession from shops at the Ahiwara bus stand and an auction notice dated 11 March 2022.

They claimed lawful patta/lease rights and long-standing possession; the Nagar Panchayat contended that the shops stood on its land and had been encroached upon, and that the petitioners had no allotment orders.

It also relied on a resolution to remove the encroachments and stated that the auction had not been finalised pursuant to an interim order of 30 March 2022.

The Court noted that the petitioners had continued to operate their shops under the interim order, while the Nagar Panchayat sought to use the shops to generate revenue.

Whether the petitioners had established a right to title, allotment, or lawful possession sufficient to prevent the Nagar Panchayat’s proposed action.

Whether, without deciding the competing claims, the petitioners should be permitted to seek consideration of their claims by the Nagar Panchayat while the interim protection continued.

The Court did not decide the substantive legal entitlement to the shops or apply a specific statutory provision to resolve the rival claims.

The respondents referred to the Municipality Act, 1961 and Article 300-A of the Constitution in support of their position concerning removal of encroachments and ownership of the land, but the Court expressed no opinion on the merits of those claims.

It directed that any representation be considered independently, in accordance with law, after giving the concerned parties an opportunity of hearing, and that the decision be reasoned.

The Court considered the petitioners’ continued operation of the shops under the interim order alongside the Nagar Panchayat’s stated interest in using the premises to generate revenue.

Because the parties disputed the petitioners’ title, allotment, and lawful possession, the Court left those questions open rather than determining them on the material before it.

It instead provided a process for the petitioners to submit supporting documents and required the competent authority to decide the claims objectively and after hearing the concerned parties.

It granted them liberty to submit a fresh representation to the Nagar Panchayat, which must decide it sympathetically, objectively, and in accordance with law—preferably within 120 days of receipt and after affording the concerned parties an opportunity of hearing.

The interim order dated 30 March 2022 was to remain in operation until the representation was decided, and the writ petition was disposed of.