State Cannot Deny Compensation for Unauthorized Occupation of Private Land by Pleading Delay, Laches, or Lack of Agreement.

The petitioner, Raj Kumar Shukla, owns land (Survey Nos. 56 and 57) in Village Sohagpur, Dhana, which is adjacent to a Forest Department depot.

Land records and a demarcation report confirmed that the Forest Department encroached upon and utilized 2.299 hectares of this land.

Initial correspondence between forest and revenue authorities in 2011 established the petitioner’s entitlement to rent for the period 1970–1992, and the Sub-Divisional Officer (Revenue) assessed the rent at ₹1,56,660.

Despite a 2012 High Court direction in a previous petition (W.P. No. 14834/2012) to process the claim, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) rejected the representation on December 22, 2012, citing the absence of a formal lease agreement and the grounds of delay, laches, and acquiescence.

Article 300-A of the Constitution of India, which mandates that no person shall be deprived of their property save by authority of law.

The Supreme Court precedent of Vidya Devi v. State of Himachal Pradesh (2020), establishing that the right to property is a human and constitutional right and that the State cannot plead adverse possession or laches to deny compensation for illegal expropriation.

Sukh Dutt Ratra v. State of H.P. (2022), which held that the State has a higher responsibility to act within the confines of legality and cannot shield itself behind technicalities like delay when it has bypassed statutory acquisition processes.

The court reasoned that the demarcation reports—conducted in the presence of forest officials—unambiguously proved the State's unauthorized possession of the petitioner’s land.

The court found that the Forest Department had already admitted to the usage and had even initiated the process of rent determination and fund allocation.

The court dismissed the DFO’s reliance on "delay and laches," noting that deprivation of property is a continuing cause of action and that a farmer’s lack of immediate legal action does not constitute a gift of land to the State.

The lack of a formal rent agreement was deemed irrelevant because the State’s occupation was unauthorized and illegal from the outset.

The court characterized the DFO’s rejection as a "malicious exercise of jurisdiction" and an attempt to subvert substantive justice through technicalities.

The court held that the Forest authorities are under a constitutional obligation to compensate the landowner for unauthorized use.

The court directed the DFO (Production), Betul, to pay the ascertained rent of ₹1,56,660 with 12% simple interest per annum from 1992 until the date of payment.

The payment must be processed within three months under the monitoring of the Conservator of Forest.