HC stays J&K Land Grant Rules 2022 for petitioner

Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, High Court has directed the administration to not take coercive action against the petitioner, who challenged J&K Land Grant Rules 2022.
As per the reports, a petitioner has filed a writ petition in the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh at Jammu, challenging the constitutionality, legality and vires of the J&K Land Grant Rules 2022, which were notified by the UT government on December 9, 2022.
The petitioner, Syed Niaz Ahmed Shah of Alson Group, has alleged that the Lieutenant Governor is not the government and therefore does not have the powers to make rules under the Land Grants Act. The petitioner was represented by Advocate Aseem Kumar Sawhney and his team.
The J&K Land Grant Rules 2022 have replaced the J&K Land Grants Rules 1960, which had a liberal lease policy of up to 99 years and extendable. The new rules have ended the owners' right to hold on to properties on lease in the UT and plan to outsource these properties afresh online.
The new rules also state that all leases, except the subsisting or expired residential leases, shall not be renewed and shall stand determined. The outgoing lessees are required to hand over the possession of the land to the government or face eviction.
The petitioner has claimed that he has been granted lease over commercial property under the previous rules and that the new rules have terminated his lease without any notice or compensation.
He has also submitted that a similar petition has been filed before the Srinagar wing of the High Court and there the UT government counsel had assured the court of taking no coercive steps against the petitioner under the new rules.
The High Court bench comprising Justice V C Koul issued notice to the respondents, who include Union of India through Home Secretary, LG of UT of J&K, Commissioner Secretary to Govt Revenue Department, Divisional Commissioner, DC Jammu etc. The court also directed that in the meanwhile, no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioner.
The new rules have been opposed by several political parties and civil society groups in J&K, who have termed them as an attempt to dispossess the locals and pave the way for outsiders to buy prime properties in J&K.
They have also argued that the new rules will push lakhs of people into unemployment and debt. However, the UT administration has defended the new rules as a measure to bring J&K at par with the rest of the country and to end the exploitation of public land by influential and powerful people.