Foreigners Can't Invoke Article 226 To Protect Unauthorized Possession Of Government Land: Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court has held that foreigners cannot invoke the writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution to protect unauthorized possession of Government land, reiterating that the fundamental rights available to foreigners are confined to Article 21. The Court further observed that where Government land has been lawfully allotted for a public purpose, a claim based merely on long possession without any lawful title or enforceable right cannot prevail over public interest.Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad was hearing a batch of writ petitions filed by persons claiming to be refugees/migrants from Bangladesh who contended that they and their predecessors had been rehabilitated by the Government in 1964 and had remained in possession of land at Village Madanpur, District Surajpur, for over six decades. They challenged the allotment of the land to Mahatma Gandhi University of Horticulture and Forestry for establishment of a Horticulture College and Research Centre, alleging that the authorities had ignored their objections and initiated eviction proceedings despite the existence of residential houses and agricultural activities on the land. The State opposed the petitions, contending that the land was Government land, the petitioners had failed to establish any lawful title or legally recognisable right, and that the allotment had been made in accordance with law for a public purpose.Referring to the Supreme Court's decision in Sarbananda Sonowal v. Union of India [(2005) 5 SCC 665], the Court observed that the fundamental rights of a foreigner are confined to Article 21 and that a person who is neither a citizen nor able to establish any lawful entitlement cannot invoke the extraordinary writ jurisdiction to protect unauthorized possession of Government land. The Court further observed that the State has a duty to protect Government land from unauthorized occupation and that the land in question had been allotted for establishment of a Horticulture College and Research Centre for the benefit of students, the farming community and the public at large.The Court further noted the present petitions involved serious disputed questions of fact relating to the petitioners' legal status, source of possession and entitlement over the land, which could not be adjudicated in writ jurisdiction. The Court observed that mere long possession, in the absence of lawful title or an enforceable legal right, does not confer any vested right warranting interference.Accordingly, holding that the petitioners had failed to establish any legal or equitable right over the Government land and that the writ petitions were devoid of merit, the Court dismissed the batch of petitions.Case Title: Ashish Mandal v. State of Chhattisgarh & Ors. (along with connected matters) [WPC No. 3692 of 2026 and connected petitions]Click Here To Read/Download Order

Foreigners Can't Invoke Article 226 To Protect Unauthorized Possession Of Government Land: Chhattisgarh High Court

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Foreigners Can't Invoke Article 226 To Protect Unauthorized Possession Of Government Land: Chhattisgarh High Court

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