The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the State of Punjab to allot shop sites to shopkeepers displaced from around Sri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, during Operation Blue Star in 1984, at ₹1,000 per square yard.

This is the rate given in 1988 to oustees of the later Galiara beautification scheme. The State had fixed a rate of ₹38,400 per square yard in 2012.

A Division Bench of Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri and Justice Pravindra Singh Chauhan held that the State had no justification for departing from its own decisions of 1991 and 2006 to treat the Blue Star oustees on a par with the Galiara oustees. It held that the State's action was "ex facie unfair, discriminatory and arbitrary", in violation of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.

"This Court is of the considered view that the State Government had been totally unfair, discriminatory and unsympathetic towards the petitioners and the similarly situated oustees, who were displaced by compulsion and force due to Operation Blue Star."

State Obligated To Rehabilitate

Noting that the incident took place 42 years ago, the Bench said it was "at pains" in deciding the matter. It invoked the maxims fiat justitia ruat caelum ("let justice be done, though the heavens fall") and interest reipublicae ut sit finis litium (it is in the interest of the State that litigation should end). It said the State was obliged to rehabilitate the displaced persons promptly and had failed to do so.

The Court observed, "it was 42 years ago that the aforesaid incident took place and now after so many years, we are deciding the issue as to at what rate the petitioners should be granted the alternate sites of their shops, notwithstanding the decision taken by the State in the early 1990s. Be that as it may, we keep in mind the latin maxim fiat justitia ruat caelum, which means 'let justice be done, though the heavens fall'. One of the primary grievances of the petitioners is that the Government has been delaying the matter for a long time which is nearly four decades."

It further highlighted that, "The foundational facts of this bunch of writ petitions are not in dispute. In June, 1984, Operation Blue Star was conducted. The petitioners were running their businesses adjoining Sri Darbar Sahib Complex, at the back and sides thereof. It is undisputed that at the time of the aforesaid operation, the petitioners were displaced from their places of business. Till date, these oustees including the petitioners have not been allotted any alternate sites for their shops, except for 18 of them and they have been litigating ever since."

The petitioners ran small shops and vending places at the back and sides of Sri Darbar Sahib, mostly as tenants. They were displaced during Operation Blue Star in June 1984, and it is not disputed that they could not remove any of their goods because curfew had been imposed.

In 1988, the Punjab Government framed the Galiara Scheme to clear and beautify the area around the Golden Temple Complex. Tenants displaced under that scheme were offered commercial sites at ₹1,000 per square yard, against a market value of about ₹4,000. They could pay the cost in four annual instalments at subsidised interest, and received a 50% subsidy on the cost of construction. There was no comparable scheme for the Blue Star oustees.

On 28.11.1991, a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary decided that the rehabilitation of Blue Star oustees would be processed "on the same lines as has been done in the case of Galiara corridor oustees." In 1992, the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, Amritsar, wrote to the State Government that the Blue Star oustees would get all facilities on the pattern of the Galiara Project.

In 2006, a meeting chaired by the Principal Secretary, Local Government, again decided that the Improvement Trust, Amritsar, would draw up a commercial scheme and that the same rehabilitation policy as for Galiara oustees would be followed. The minutes noted that the sufferers of Operation Blue Star "have already spend a lot of time waiting for the relief".

On 27.07.2012, following a Cabinet decision, the State approved the direct allotment of 133 booths of 27 square yards each to the Blue Star tenants at the then Collector's rate of ₹38,400 per square yard, or ₹10,36,800 per booth.

Earlier Litigation

A Coordinate Bench disposed of the oustees' earlier writ petitions after the Improvement Trust produced the 2012 decision and said applications had been invited. The oustees challenged that order before the Supreme Court. By order dated 28.02.2017, the Supreme Court noted that the dispute now concerned the rate, an issue not specifically raised before the High Court, and remitted the matter to the High Court to decide the rate.

During the pendency of the SLPs, the petitioners had deposited ₹10,000 per square yard under an interim order, and that amount was transferred to the High Court with interest.

The petitioners argued that they stood on a "higher pedestal" than the Galiara oustees. They were displaced first and worst, under curfew and by force, and lost everything. The Galiara oustees, by contrast, were moved in a planned and phased manner. They also pointed out that the Improvement Trust had passed Resolution No. 31 dated 31.01.2020 fixing the rate at ₹14,450 per square yard, but the State had rescinded it. They said they would be satisfied with the benefits of the Galiara Scheme.

The State argued that the ₹38,400 rate was based on the Collector's rate and was lawful, and that it was willing to allot sites at that rate. It said that, following an order of a Coordinate Bench dated 20.05.2026, the question of reconsidering the rate was pending before the Cabinet, but no decision had been taken. Counsel for the Improvement Trust and the Municipal Corporation, Amritsar, referred to the 2020 resolution and submitted that the Supreme Court had left it to the High Court to fix the rate in accordance with law.

Status Of Allotments

According to a chart the State placed on record, 128 of 144 affected persons applied and a draw was held for 122. Of these: 18 were allotted booths and paid the full price at ₹38,400 per square yard, 14 were issued allotment letters after paying one-fourth of the price, 13 were issued allotment letters after paying 10% of the price, 35 paid 10% of the price but were not issued allotment letters, as their verification was pending and 42 were not issued allotment letters, but had deposited ₹10,000 per square yard in the Supreme Court.

Of the remaining six, the draw could not be held for want of sites at the location, and one had withdrawn his earnest money. The Bench held that lack of space at the dedicated site was no reason to discriminate against the other five, and that the State must consider their cases too.

The Bench held that there were two classes of oustees, those displaced by Operation Blue Star in June 1984, and those displaced four years later under the planned Galiara Scheme. Despite its own decisions of 1991 and 2006, the State put the first group, who were in "a much more disadvantageous position", at a disadvantage against the second. The Bench called this "shocking".

 Promissory Estoppel

On promissory estoppel, the Bench referred to cases including Motilal Padampat Sugar Mills v. State of U.P. ((1979)  and Union of India v. Unicorn Industries ((2019) 10 SCC 575). It relied in particular on the principles laid down in State of Himachal Pradesh v. Kundlas Loh Udyog 2026. These include that governmental assurances "are not empty declarations, but solemn representations on the faith of which citizens regulate their affairs", and that the doctrine is not merely defensive and may itself furnish a cause of action where equity requires.

The Bench accepted that promissory estoppel may not apply strictly, as this was not a case of the oustees altering their position after a promise was made. However, it held that the rationale of the doctrine, which rests on fairness, justice and good conscience, applied given "the seriousness and extraordinary circumstances" of the case.

The State was therefore "estopped from putting the petitioners at a disadvantageous position by creating an artificial discrimination."

Invoking its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 "to advance substantial justice", the Court directed:

The petitioners shall be allotted booths/sites at ₹1,000 per square yard, the Galiara Scheme rate, and shall get all other benefits of that scheme.

The 18 persons who accepted allotment and paid the full price at ₹38,400 per square yard shall not be disturbed.

The five persons not considered for want of space shall be offered alternate sites at ₹1,000 per square yard, with the other Galiara benefits.

The ₹10,000 per square yard deposited in the Supreme Court and transferred to the High Court with interest shall be adjusted against the total cost, and any excess shall be refunded by the State.

The Court held that the petitioners' hardship over 42 years had infringed their fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19 and 21. It directed that the allotments, including registration of sale deeds and delivery of possession, be completed within two months. The cases will be listed for compliance after two months.

Case Title: Yashpal and Others v. State of Punjab and Others (with connected matters)

Case Nos.: CWP-7476-2000, CWP-3765-2002, CWP-15467-2004 and CWP-12788-2008

Counsel: Saurav Khurana, Divyanshu Juneja and Prakhar Singh (CWP-7476-2000), Vivek Salathia (CWP-15467-2004), and Manveen Kahlon for D.S. Pheruman (CWP-3765-2002) for the petitioners;

Anu Chatrath, Senior Additional AG, Punjab, with Shruti, Assistant AG, for the State;

G.S. Attariwala, Senior Advocate, with Rajat Verma, Vansh Chawla and Ratik Chatrath Kapur, for the Improvement Trust, Amritsar (CWP-15467-2004); Abhilaksh Gaind, Rakesh Roy and Priya Jarial for the Improvement Trust, Amritsar (other petitions);

Sanjeev Soni, Sarthak Soni, Nishtha Grover and Tara Dutt for the Municipal Corporation, Amritsar; Arun Gosain for the Union of India

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