The Supreme Court ruled that the Haldwani railway land belongs to the State and encroachers cannot insist on rehabilitation at the same site. The Court directed authorities to help affected families apply under PM Awas Yojana and find a practical solution before March 31.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that people who are living on railway land in Haldwani and are now facing eviction due to a railway expansion project cannot demand that they be rehabilitated at the same place.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipin Pancholi made it clear that those who have encroached on government land cannot decide how and where the Railways should carry out its development work.
During the hearing, CJI Kant observed,
“Why to insist for them to stay there when there can be another place with better amenities. For any ambitious project there is vacant space needed on both sides. The people staying there cannot dictate where to railway should lay line etc,”
The Court emphasised that there is no dispute about the ownership of the land. It noted that the land belongs to the State, and it is for the State to decide how best to use it for public purposes. The Bench said that at this stage, the only issue that needs consideration is the rehabilitation of the affected families.
Justice Bagchi clarified the nature of the relief being considered and said,
“Our prima facie view is that it is more of a help and less of a right,”
The case concerns more than 4,000 families living in the Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani, Uttarakhand. They are facing eviction from land claimed by the Railways. The matter began after the Uttarakhand High Court, in December 2022, ordered the removal of alleged encroachments from railway land.
Many of the families have been residing there for decades. After the High Court refused to grant them relief, the residents approached the Supreme Court.
The petitioners argued that they belong to marginalised and economically weaker sections of society and that eviction would make them homeless. They also claimed that the State government did not properly defend their case before the High Court, which led to an order in favour of the Railways.
Another important argument raised was that disputes relating to title over immovable property require detailed examination of documents, witnesses, cross-examination and proper trial. According to them, such a detailed process could not have been carried out in a summary proceeding under Article 226 of the Constitution before the High Court.
Earlier, in January 2023, the Supreme Court had stayed the High Court’s eviction order and asked authorities to explore ways to rehabilitate the affected families.
In July 2024, a Bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan had also expressed concern over the Indian Railways relying on orders passed in a public interest litigation (PIL) to evict residents instead of following the proper legal procedure.
During the present hearing, CJI Kant once again underlined that encroachers cannot impose conditions on a public infrastructure project.
He stated,
“Why to insist for them to stay there only when there can be another place with better amenities. For any ambitious project there is vacant space needed on both sides. The people staying there cannot dictate where to railway should lay line etc,”
However, the Court also recognised the need to protect the livelihood and shelter of the affected people. It observed,
“It is highly desirable that livelihood of petitioner is not affected and thus let applications be filed under PM Awas Yojna,”
The Bench suggested that most of the affected families may fall under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category and can seek benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). The Court made it clear that while rehabilitation can be facilitated, the situation cannot remain unresolved for an indefinite period.
To ensure smooth rehabilitation, the Supreme Court directed the Collector of Nainital and local authorities in Haldwani to provide application forms under the PM Awas Yojna to all affected residents. The Court further ordered,
“In order to facilitate the application, we direct the member secretary of State Legal Services Authority to hold with them a rehabilitation camp at the site and ensure that every head of the family are persuaded to apply under the Awas Yojna,”
The Bench also fixed a timeline for the exercise and stated,
“Let a practical solution be found before March 31 and let camps be held till all families have applied. Let some counsellors, social activists and domain experts be engaged who can apprise the occupiers the benefits of PM Awas Yojna,”
The Court directed that this entire process should begin after March 19 and that authorities must work towards finding a practical and humane solution before the end of March.
With these directions, the Supreme Court made it clear that while the railway expansion project can proceed, the affected families should be properly guided and assisted in applying for rehabilitation schemes, especially under PM Awas Yojana.
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