More than 108 years and after countless hearings, a district court at Ara in Bihar’s Bhojpur district has finally given its verdict in a land dispute case. This is probably one of the oldest pending cases in the country, whose journey began in 1914 with a title suit filed in the Ara civil court during the British rule. Finally, on March 11 this year, the additional district judge of Bhojpur, Shweta Singh delivered her judgment, a copy of which has now been obtained by the plaintiff giving him rights to a three-acre disputed land in Koilwar village, which is under attachment of the state for 91 years now.
NEW DELHI: More than 108 years and after countless hearings, a district court at Ara in Bihar’s Bhojpur district has finally given its verdict in a land dispute case. This is probably one of the oldest pending cases in the country, whose journey began in 1914 with a title suit filed in the Ara civil court during the British rule. Finally, on March 11 this year, the additional district judge of Bhojpur, Shweta Singh delivered her judgment, a copy of which has now been obtained by the plaintiff giving him rights to a three-acre disputed land in Koilwar village, which is under attachment of the state for 91 years now.
“It is no accident that consensus of judicial pronouncements holds the right to property to be organically linked with right to life protected under Article 21 of the Constitution,” Justice Singh observed in her order. Rooting for immediate release of the land, she dubbed the long pendency a “travesty of justice and tragedy of human life, inflicted upon the hapless (parties of dispute).”
At the root of the dispute is a nine-acre land originally owned by Azhar Khan of Koilwar in Bhojpur district. The feud is between two Rajput families over three acres of this land, acquired from the heirs of Azhar Khan. Even after fighting the case for 108 years, neither side is ready for a compromise.
The dispute lingers on even after this judgment, though the main protagonist of the case is dead and descendants of Azhar Khan are believed to have migrated to Pakistan. Atul Singh, the winning party, is a Hindu College alumnus and the fourth-generation descendant of the original plaintiff, Darbari Singh. Even after a favourable verdict, Atul says he is not sure if the title suit has reached its finality as the other side has the option of moving the high court, and thereafter the Supreme Court if the order is challenged.
Barely 40km away from Patna, Koilwar village has become a municipality. Situated on the national highway, land possessions are prized assets in this village with valuations currently going above Rs 5 crore an acre. The disputing Rajput families have lost generations of family members during this period.
“It is time that a curtain is drawn, though it may not be the final one, on this long meandering course of litigation between the parties, which has been going on since 1914,” Justice Singh said.
