HC Pulls Up Defence Ministry For Forcible Possession Of Century-Old Disputed Property

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Madhya Pradesh High Court has strongly criticised the Ministry of Defence for its "wholly illegal" act of forcibly taking possession of a 132-year-old disputed property from two elderly sisters, without following due legal process.

In a judgment dated May 13, Justice Pranay Verma of the Indore Bench observed that the manner in which the Defence Estate Officer seized the approximately 1.8-acre property in Mhow, Indore, "defies all canons of law."

The ruling came in response to an appeal filed by Ann Chandiramani, 84, and Aruna Rodrigues, 79, who challenged an April 2024 order by an appellate court that denied their request for an injunction against dispossession.

According to the appellants, a civil court in 2022 had dismissed their application for a declaration of title and for nullification of an eviction notice issued by the Defence Estate Officer. However, the court acknowledged that the sisters were in possession of the property and had a right to occupy it.

Shockingly, within 24 hours of that decision, the Defence Estate Officer took possession of the property without any eviction order from a competent court or authority, the sisters alleged.

Noting this, the High Court stated: "It is evident that the defendants (Defence personnel) did not afford a breathing time of even 24 hours to the plaintiffs (sisters) to approach the appellate court and seek interim relief." Justice Verma emphasised that the property dispute had persisted for nearly three decades and remarked, “Heavens would not have fallen had the sisters been granted reasonable time to seek legal recourse.”

Criticising the conduct of the Defence Estate Officer, the court said the act was "bent upon and premeditated" to prevent the sisters from exercising their right to appeal.

“Such an attitude on part of the defendants is most unfortunate and cannot be countenanced,” the court remarked.

The bench directed that possession of the property be restored to the sisters and instructed the Defence Estate Officer not to interfere further or create any third-party interest.

In their petition, the sisters claimed their family had purchased the property in November 1892. The dispute began in July 1995 when the Defence Ministry issued a notice under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, asking them to produce ownership documents and cease construction activity. The sisters responded to the notice and subsequently filed a civil suit in 1997.