Smt. Shyamo Devi and Others vs State of U.P. through Secretary and Others
Background
In 1969-70, a plot in Rampur Kedhar village, Uttar Pradesh, originally set aside as a Panchayat Ghar (village community hall) site, was later declared unsuitable for that purpose and re-assigned in parts for residential use, with different portions allotted to individuals including the appellants under the UP Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act. About 13 years later, revenue officials proposed cancelling these allotments, claiming the land had actually always been reserved common land. The Additional Collector cancelled the allotments as void, holding no limitation period applied since the action was suo motu; this was upheld in revision and by the Allahabad High Court. The appellants, who did not appear despite being given a final opportunity, had their case decided by the Supreme Court on the merits of the record.
Decision Breakdown
The Court found that the cancellation order relied on an unsubstantiated allegation that the original allotment approval bore a forged signature of the Sub-District Magistrate, without specifying the basis for that conclusion or attributing any wrongdoing to the allottees themselves. Applying its earlier ruling in Ibrahimpatnam's case (that a bald, unproven allegation of fraud cannot by itself justify undoing a settled allotment), the Court held the cancellation could not be sustained. It also weighed the equities: the allottees were poor villagers who had built homes on the land and lived there for decades based on an allotment approved by a competent authority. The appeal was allowed, and the cancellation orders passed by the Additional Collector and Additional Commissioner, along with the High Court's dismissal of the writ petition, were all set aside, with no order as to costs.
Lesson Learnt
A government authority cannot cancel a decades-old land allotment merely by alleging fraud in vague terms: an allegation of forgery or fraud must be specifically substantiated, especially where doing so would displace poor families from homes they built in good faith long ago.