2026:HHC:18994-DB IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA CWP No.2489 of 2023 Decided on: 21.05.2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sushma Kashyap and Ors …..Petitioners Versus State of H.P. and Ors .....Respondents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coram Ms. Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua Whether approved for reporting?1 For the Petitioners: Mr. Ajay Kumar, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Rohit, Advocate. For the Respondents: Mr. Anup Rattan, Advocate General with Mr. Y.P.S.Dhaulta and Mr. L.N.Sharma, Additional Advocates General, for respondents No. 1 to 5. Mr. Neeraj Gupta, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Ajeet Pal Singh Jaswal, Advocate, for respondent No.6. Ms. Sunita Sharma, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Dhananjay Sharma, Advocate, for respondent No. 7 and 8. Mr. Mandeep Gupta, Member Secretary -cum-Superintending Engineer (D&QC), Jal Shakti Vihbhag Shimla, present in person. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jyotsna Rewal Dua, Judge Petitioners seek direction to respondents No. 1 to 5 to permanently plug a bore well being operated by 1Whether reporters of print and electronic media may be allowed to see the order? Yes. 2 2026:HHC:18994-DB respondent No.6 in Village Jhamarti Gram Panchayat Naldehra, Tehsil Shimla Rural, District Chimla, H.P.. According to the petitioners, the said bore well is being run by respondent No.6 in an unlawful and unauthorized manner in contravention of the Himachal Pradesh Ground Water (Regulation and Control of Development and Management) Act, 2005 (the Act in short). Petitioner further prays to initiate penal action against respondent No.6 for his alleged violation of the Act. 2. Heard learned counsel for the parties and considered the case file. Following facts come out from the pleadings and submissions made for the parties:- 2(i) On 13.02.2019, Gram Panchayat Naldehra issued a No Objection Certificate in favour of respondent No.6 for setting up a bore well for his domestic use, irrigation and up keep of livestock. The bore well was set up by respondent No.6. 2(ii) On 19.04.2022, Gram Panchayat Naldehra passed a resolution cancelling the No Objection Certificate issued in favour of respondent No.6, for setting up the bore well for the assigned reason that respondent No.6 had been using the water drawn from bore well for commercial purposes by supplying it to the nearby hotels, causing 3 2026:HHC:18994-DB detriment and harm to the villagers as nearby natural sources of water had started drying up. 2(iii) Taking cognizance of the complaint made by petitioner No.1, respondent No.3 vide office letter dated 26.03.2022, directed respondent No.4 to verify the factual position and to take further necessary action. This was followed by office letter dated 16.03.2022 from respondent No.4 to respondent No.6, directing him to produce the sanction letter for operating the bore well as also its permitted capacity. Certain other office letters seeking similar information were also issued. 2(iv) On 25.06.2022, respondent No.4 requested the Station House Officer, Dhalli, Tehsil and District Shimla, H.P, to lodge FIR against respondent No.6 as he had not produced the requisite documents as also in view of the complaint made against him about supplying water extracted from the bore well to the hotels for commercial purposes. It is in the aforesaid background that this writ petition has been filed alleging that respondent No.6 is operating the bore well without permission of the Competent Authority, without getting it registered under the Act, without having any licence to operate and is also 4 2026:HHC:18994-DB using the water drawn from the bore well for the purpose alien for which he was issued NOC by the Gram Panchayat i.e. respondent No.6 was not using the underground water for domestic use, but was supplying the same for commercial benefits to the hotels. 3. Respondent No.1 to 5 in their reply have taken the stand that respondent No.6 had applied for registration of the bore well on 23.08.2022. His application was being processed by the respondent-Department, but in the meanwhile, an amendment was carried out in the Himachal Pradesh Ground Water (Regulation and Control of Development and Management) Act, 2005 by Act No. 14 of 2022. The amended Act came into force on 28.03.2023 in terms of notification issued on 27.03.2023. Under the amended Act, there is no requirement for granting sanction/permission for setting up the bore well for domestic use. No permit/licence is required to run a bore well for domestic use under the amended Act. Regarding petitioners’ allegations of respondent No.6 using the water drawn from the bore well for commercial use, the defence taken is that the Competent Authority had directed the concerned Junior Engineer to inquire into the matter. The Junior Engineer furnished his 5 2026:HHC:18994-DB inquiry report on 18.11.2022 to the effect that respondent No.6 had installed a bore well over his private land; A check was maintained for about 20 days as to whether bore well water was being sold to any hotelier or other person; No extraction of bore well water was observed during this period. According to respondents, there is no water source of the respondent-Jal Shakti Vibhag, within 1 KM distance from the bore well. Respondents have admitted in their reply that respondent No.6’s bore well was not registered with the Authorities, though he had furnished an online application for registration of bore well on 23.08.2022. Respondents further submit that in view of amendment of the Act, there is no need for sanction of bore well of respondent No.6 for his domestic use. Respondent No.6 has controverted all the allegations levelled against him by the petitioners. He has denied selling water on commercial basis. According to this respondent, he had been using the bore well water for domestic use only. 4. Consideration 4(i) The Himachal Pradesh Ground Water (Regulation and Control of Development and Management) 6 2026:HHC:18994-DB Act, 2005 defines user of ground water in Section 2(o) as under:- “2(o) "user of ground water" means a person or an institution including a company or an industry or an establishment, Whether Government or not, who or which uses ground water for any purpose excluding domestic use.” Respondent No.6 being domestic user of the ground water did not fall within the definition of word ‘user of ground water’ under the Act of 2005. This definition, however, underwent following change after amendment of the 2005 Act by Act No.14 of 2022 that came into force on 28.03.2023:- “(c) in clause (o), for the words " excluding domestic use", the words and signs, "excluding individual domestic consumer, rural drinking water supply scheme, Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces establishments, agricultural activities and micro and small enterprises drawing ground water less than 10 cubic meters per day” shall be substituted.” Even under the amended Act, respondent No.6 stands excluded from the purview of words ‘user of ground water’, him being user of ground water for domestic use. 7 2026:HHC:18994-DB 4(ii) It would also be in place to take note of Section 6(A) inserted by the amending Act after Section 6 of the Principal Act as under: - "6A. Registration of well by any person extracting ground water.—Every person extracting ground water and does not come in the ambit of definition of user of ground water in a notified area shall, within a period of sixty days from the date of establishment of the authority or the commencement of the Himachal Pradesh Ground Water (Regulation and Control of Development and Management), Amendment Act, 2022, whichever is later make an application on such form containing such particulars, free of cost, in the manner as may be prescribed, to the Authority." In terms of Section 6A of the Act, inserted in the Principal Act by Act No. 14 of 2022, even a person exempted from the definition of user of ground water, if extracting ground water in a notified area, is required to make an application for registration of the bore well. Mr. Mandeep Gupta, Member Secretary-cum- Superintending Engineer, (D&QC), Jal Shakti Vibhag, Shimla, present in the Court has apprised that respondent No.6’s bore well is installed in an area which was declared a notified area on 29.11.2019. This being the position, respondent No.6 is required to get his bore well registered with the Authorities. 8 2026:HHC:18994-DB None of the parties could point out any provision under the Act applicable as on date whereunder the domestic user of ground water is required to get separate permission /licence for operating the bore well. In fact reply filed by respondents No. 1 to 5 does not even insist upon the requirement of registration of domestic user of ground water under the Act. However, that interpretation would not be correct in view of clear and unambiguous language of Section 6A of the Act. Accordingly, respondents/Competent Authority is directed to expeditiously process the pending application moved by respondent No.6, for its registration in accordance with law. 4(iii) Insofar as the factual allegations levelled against respondent No.6 are concerned, the same have been refuted not only by respondent No.6, but also by respondents No.1 to 5-State Authorities. The inquiry report conducted into the allegations has been placed on record. As per this report, all the allegations levelled against respondent No.6 about his using the ground water for commercial purpose by selling to hoteliers and others etc., were found to be false. Be that as it may. In case respondent No.6 is found to be 9 2026:HHC:18994-DB in breach of provisions of the Act, it is always open for respondents-State Authorities to take appropriate action against him in accordance with law. 5. Consequently, with the above observations, the writ petition stands disposed of, so also the pending miscellaneous application(s), if any. Jyotsna Rewal Dua May 21, 2026 Judge R.Atal