The Gauhati High Court on Wednesday issued a contempt notice to the District Commissioner and the Additional District Commissioner (Revenue) of Dhubri district and the Circle Officer of Chapar Revenue Circle in Assam for allegedly violating a HC judgment while carrying out a large-scale eviction drive in July.
The show cause notice, by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury, came on a petition by 51 evicted residents who alleged that they were not issued individual notices before the drive.
The petition alleged that the officials wilfully violated the binding law on issuing notices laid down by a Division Bench of the High Court on June 27, 2024.
In the case of Md. Salak Uddin v The State of Assam, the High Court had ruled that “the occupant/possessor of Government lands have to be issued notice” before initiating eviction proceedings under Rule 18(2) of the Settlement Rules framed under the Assam Land and Revenue Regulations, 1886. “Issuance of a notice … would be in consonance with the principles of natural justice and just fair, transparent procedure which are facets of Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution,” the High Court had held.
The Assam Land and Revenue Regulations are the foundational law governing land rights and revenue administration in the state. Rule 18(2) specifically outlines the process for ejecting individuals from government land.
The petition argued that by not serving individual notices, the officials deliberately bypassed the court’s 2024 decision, rendering it ineffective.
The issue stems from an eviction drive conducted on July 8 across the revenue villages of Charuabakhra, Santoshpur and Chirakuta Pt. 1 within the Chapar Revenue Circle. The district administration evicted around 1,400 families, primarily Bengali-speaking Muslims, from 3,500 bighas of government khas land. The stated purpose of the eviction was to clear land for a proposed thermal power project.
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The plea stated that the eviction caused “irreparable loss and injury as the petitioner could not shift the household items and belongings”.
The court has directed the officials to respond to the show cause notice by October 27.
This is the third time in the last twelve months that Assam government officials have faced contempt proceedings over evictions.
On September 30, 2024, the Supreme Court had issued notice to the Assam government on a plea seeking contempt proceedings for the alleged violation of the apex court’s September 17, 2024 direction that “there shall be no demolition anywhere across the country without its permission”. The contempt plea had been filed by 47 residents of Assam’s Kachutoli Pathar and other adjoining areas in the Sonapur mouza of the Kamrup Metro district. They alleged contempt of the Supreme Court by the state government carrying out demolition of their dwelling units.
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A top court Division Bench of Justices B R Gavai and KV Viswanathan had ordered the maintenance of status quo in the area.
On July 24, another Division Bench of the Supreme Court, comprising CJI Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran, issued notice to the Assam Chief Secretary and Goalpara authorities over allegedly illegal evictions and demolition of houses, schools and shops in the district in violation of the Supreme Court’s November 2024 guidelines against summary demolitions. The contempt petition had been filed by residents of Goalpara’s Hasila Beel village.
Both cases are pending in the Supreme Court.