2025:UHC:7840 SL. No. Date Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with Signatures COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS WPMS No. 2866 of 2024 With WPMS No. 3193 of 2024 Hon’ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J 1. Mr. D.S. Mehta, learned counsel for the petitioners. 2. Mr. Narayan Dutt, learned Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand. 3. Mr. B.S. Bisht, learned counsel for the respondent – Nagar Palika Parishad Nainital. 4. Mr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, learned counsel for the respondent. 5. Since common questions of fact and law are involved in these petitions, therefore, both the petitions are clubbed together and decided by this common judgment. However, for the sake of brevity and convenience, facts of WPMS No. 2866 of 2024 alone are being considered. 6. According to petitioners, they are residing over the houses standing over land belonging to State Government for the last four decades and some of them are also having valid allotment orders in their favour, however, Executive Officer, Nagar Palika Parishad has issued notice on 30.09.2024, asking them to vacate the land in question, within a week. 7. In the impugned notice, it is provided that petitioners shall be rehabilitated for a period of three months at some alternate site at Durgapur, with Nainital Tehsil. 8. Learned counsel for the petitioners 2025:UHC:7840 submits that petitioners belongs to poor strata of society and they have no other place to stay and due to their long possession, they have acquired a right to enjoy the property and they have also perfected their title, therefore, the eviction notice is illegal. 9. Per contra, Mr. B.S. Bisht, learned counsel for respondent-Nagar Palika Parishad submits that petitioners are unauthorised occupants, without any order of allotment by the Competent Authority and the land in question is needed for construction of multi-level parking to address the parking problem of Nainital Town. He further submits that petitioners have been provided alternate accommodation, initially for three months, so that petitioners may make some alternate arrangement for their residence in the meantime. 10. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that three of the petitioners have moved application for grant of freehold right to the Competent Authority, which is pending. 11. Learned counsel for the Nagar Palika submits that application for freehold, filed by one of the petitioners, was rejected by Nagar Palika Parishad and applications made by other two petitioners are under process. He further submits that as per policy, freehold rights can be given only in respect of such land which is not needed for any public purpose. He further submits that since petitioners are rank trespassers over Government Land and in view of the pressing need of the land for multilevel parking, the Authorities are justified in asking the petitioners to vacate the 2025:UHC:7840 Government land. 12. Learned counsel for the Nagar Palika Parishad further submits that Coordinate Bench vide order dated 02.12.2024 passed in WPMS No. 3193 of 2024 had given time to petitioners for filing affidavit, indicating the date by which they will vacate the land in question and shift to alternate site offered to them, however, no affidavit has been filed by the petitioners so far. Thus, he submits that petitioners are no more interested in filing such affidavit as their intention is to continue their unauthorised occupation over land in question forever. 13. Admittedly, petitioners do not have any document to substantiate their claim regarding title over the land in question. The plea of adverse possession cannot be decided in a writ petition, as it is a question of fact. 14. After hearing learned counsel for the parties, this Court is not inclined to interfere in the matter. A person, who is unauthorisedly occupying Government land, cannot be permitted to continue his unauthorised occupation, especially when the Government land is urgently needed for a public purpose. 15. The writ petitions are, however, disposed of by permitting the petitioners to approach the Competent Authority by making application for their rehabilitation. (Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J) 03.09.2025 Aswal NITI RAJ SINGH ASWAL Digitally signed by NITI RAJ SINGH ASWAL DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=eacc6757ee7881e933ff8934f07477005aa 85f9802a3a08b08d1369512ea30f3, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=44EB54CBF00B7698CB6F10C2CE3D 26F5C22DACF4F4610C1FE58A58531726FBB0, cn=NITI RAJ SINGH ASWAL Date: 2025.09.08 07:37:58 -07'00' 2025:UHC:7840