Now Reading: Karnataka HC: SC/ST panel can’t decide land title disputes
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Karnataka HC: SC/ST panel can’t decide land title disputes
The Karnataka High Court has ruled that the State SC/ST Commission cannot adjudicate disputes over immovable property title or order mutation of land records. Justice Suraj Govindaraj held the Commission is only…
The Story in Brief
The Karnataka High Court has ruled that the State SC/ST Commission cannot adjudicate disputes over immovable property title or order mutation of land records. Justice Suraj Govindaraj held the Commission is only a recommendatory body, not a parallel court. The order quashed a 2023 Commission directive that declared certain forest land at Seebi Agrahara in Sira Taluk as non-forest and ordered its mutation in favour of private parties. The state government had challenged the order, arguing the land was notified as forest in 1947 under the Mysore Forest Regulation. The court agreed the Commission had exceeded its jurisdiction by attempting to decide title and forest status.
The Indian Opinion
Observers often frame such rulings as an attack on protections for marginalised communities. That is a lazy read. The High Court merely enforced statutory boundaries: a recommendatory body cannot act as a parallel court on land title. The real test is whether state agencies now expedite the genuine grievances of SC/ST claimants through proper channels, or let procedure become another barrier.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
