Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:119795 Court No. - 49 Case :- PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (PIL) No. - 244 of 2025 Petitioner :- Sandeep Kumar Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 5 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Devottam Pandey Counsel for Respondent :- Rameshwar Prasad Shukla,C.S.C. Hon'ble J.J. Munir,J. 1. This matter was mentioned by Mr. Devottam Pandey, learned Counsel for the petitioner in the first hours to be taken up. It is, accordingly, taken up. 2. A rejoinder affidavit has been filed by in Court today. Let it be taken on record and numbered by the office. 3. Parties have exchanged affidavits. 4. Admit. 5. Heard Mr. Devottam Pandey, learned Counsel for the petitioner and Ms. Amrita Singh, learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel, appearing on behalf of the State respondents. 6. The case of the petitioner, in brief, is that in plot no. 6/0.0010 situate in Village- Bharkhokha, Post- Babubel, Tehsil- Sadar Ballia, District- Ballia, there is encroachment by respondent no. 6. The land is asserted to be navin parti and a public utility one. 7. In the counter affidavit, filed on behalf of respondent nos. 1, 2 and 3, in paragraph nos. 7 and 8, the stand taken is that on 04.08.2023, in accordance with the policy of the State and the provisions of the law, the land, comprising plot no. 6 admeasuring 0.012 hectare, was allotted in favour of the sixth respondent granting him a residential patta. Patta has been granted in accordance with rules after inviting applications from the landless persons in need of residential accommodation or residential provision. The proceedings of the Gaon Sabha, held after beat of drum et cetera carried in the resolution dated 07.08.2023, are annexed. The approval to these proceedings was granted on 12.03.2024. It would thus appear that respondent no. 6 is holding plot no. 6 on his residential patta granted by the respondents in accordance with the law prima facie. He is not an encroacher. 8. So far as the case that plot no. 6 is a public utility land, we may say that the said assertion is entirely ill-founded. Under Section 77 of the U.P. Revenue Code, 2006 which unlists land that would be public utility, navin parti is not there. A residential patta can well be granted in land that is navin parti. 9. Now, if there is some other illegality, vitiating the process by which this patta has been granted in favour of respondent no. 6, that is beyond the frame of the present writ petition. This is a Public Interest Litigation, where the petitioner has come forward to rid land belonging to the Gaon Sabha of encroachment. This is certainly not a case where land of a Gaon Sabha is encroached. It is lawfully held by respondent no. 6, until that allotment is cancelled in accordance with law. It will be open to the petitioner or any other person, who has locus, to question the allotment through competent statutory proceedings. 10. Subject to the above remarks, this petition is dismissed. Order Date :- 22.7.2025 Prashant D. Digitally signed by :- PRASHANT DWIVEDI High Court of Judicature at Allahabad