Land Acquired For Construction Of Police Post: MP High Court Says State Govt. Constitutionally Dutybound To Protect The Interest Of Tribal Community

In a case that allegedly involves the erection of a police post in tribal land, Madhya Pradesh High Court has made an observation that the state government is constitutionally duty-bound to protect the interest of the tribal community concerned.

“It is made clear that looking to the status of the petitioner being a member of the Scheduled Tribe community, it is expected that Principal Secretary, Home Department will take a holistic view, in as much as, the State Government is dutybound by the constitutional provisions to protect the interest of such Tribal community”, the court opined while disposing of the petition filed by a member of the tribal community.

The single-judge bench of Justice Vivek Agarwal has also instructed the Principal Secretary of the Home Department to consider and pass a speaking order on the representation of the complainant within thirty days if such a representation is made by him within 15 days from the date of pronouncement of order.

“In case, petitioner files a fresh representation before the Principal Secretary, Home Department, Vallabh Bhawan Bhopal within fifteen days from today, then the said authority shall decide the said representation through a speaking order within a further period of thirty days under communication to the petitioner”, the court noted in the order while observing that the Cabinet Secretary has no authority to decide the affairs of the state since a representation was made by the complainant/petitioner to the Cabinet Secretary initially.

The complaint in this case was filed by a person belonging to the ‘Baiga’ tribe alleging that his land was taken over by the state authorities without following the due procedure contemplated under the Land Acquisition Act. According to the complainant/petitioner, the state government has already erected the police post on his land rendering it useless.

Before the High Court, the complainant belonging to the ‘Baiga’ tribe submitted that he had become a ‘land loser’ and his valuable rights had been affected by the erection of a police post.

“To my understanding of aspects of Public Administration, post of Cabinet Secretary has nothing to do with the affairs of the State. The representation is required to be made to the Principal Secretary, Home Department or the Collector, District Balaghat who have already been impleaded as respondent nos. 3 and 4 in the present petition”, the bench sitting at Jabalpur further observed.

Case Title: Haresingh Markam v. Union of India Through Principal Secretary Ministry of Tribal Affairs & Ors.

Case No: Writ Petition No. 25144 of 2023

Click Here To Read/ Download Order