Patna: Patna High Court has ruled that former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar is entitled to compensation for a 0.56-acre plot of land acquired by Bihar govt five decades ago.In a setback to the state authorities, the court quashed a 2023 order by the Patna district collector that had summarily cancelled the land’s long-standing revenue records (jamabandi).Delivering the judgment, Justice Khatim Reza restored the revenue records in the name of Kumar’s late mother, Indrani Devi. The disputed land, located in Patna’s Mainpura locality within Phulwari revenue area, was acquired by the state govt in 1976 for constructing a drainage system.The historical timeline presented in the court revealed that the land was originally settled by the erstwhile landlord in 1941 in favour of Gauri Charan Singh. His descendants later transferred the property through registered sale deeds. Indrani Devi purchased the patch in 1965, following which her name was officially mutated in the state’s revenue records. After her demise in 2002, the property records were mutated in Meira Kumar’s name based on a registered will.The High Court criticised the state’s reliance on Section 4(h) of the Bihar Land Reforms Act to cancel the records. Justice Reza clarified that such proceedings are strictly dependent on the formal vesting of an estate in the state govt. The court observed that the state failed to produce any notification under Section 3 or 3A to establish this vesting. Consequently, the collector lacked the jurisdiction to initiate summary cancellation proceedings.Furthermore, the court noted that the petitioner’s family had held the land for over 60 years. The judge remarked that if the state wishes to challenge a pre-1946 title or settlement, it must approach a competent civil court instead of executing summary cancellations through revenue officials.While the collector had argued that the cadastral survey records classified the plot as ‘Gairmazarua Aam’ (public land) and ‘Pichhali Nadi’ (old riverbed), the High Court explicitly ruled that such entries do not constitute legal documents of title. Citing a landmark Supreme Court precedent, the High Court declared the collector’s order illegal and directed govt to compensate Kumar under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
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