HC upholds rights of 1947 refugees

Coming to the rescue of partition refugees, the Bombay High Court recently quashed an order of the  state government cancelling the allotment of additional lands made to them.

Chembur Colony resident Satramdas Ramdas, whose family had migrated from Pakistan in 1947, had moved the HC challenging the 1995 decision of then state revenue secretary to cancel the allotment of land-strips adjacent to their refugee barracks. Ramdas and other refugees were accommodated in barracks in several cities across the state, under Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954.

Deciding the 14-year-old case, the HC has held that the state government does not have the power to review allotment of land made under the Displaced Persons Act. The court noted that such review of allotment was not possible once conveyance deeds were issued. The court therefore set aside the decision to cancel the allotment of additional lands.