Advocate argues law taking back land breaches property rights
PANAJI
Adv Moses Pinto has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court after the Bombay High Court at Goa dismissed his petition against last year’s government amendment to the Code of Comunidades. The amendment allows land given by a comunidade for a specific purpose to be taken back if it is used for a different purpose.
Adv Pinto, appearing in person, argued that the new provision violates the constitutional right to property. He said it “introduces a vague and excessive power to forfeit land grants, contrary to the principle of reasonableness under Article 14.”
“The High Court erred in not appreciating that legislative redundancy coupled with arbitrariness is a valid ground for judicial review under the doctrine of manifest arbitrariness,” Adv Pinto said.
A division bench of Justice Bharti Dangre and Justice Nivedita Mehta had earlier dismissed his petition.
“It is trite position of law that whenever a piece of land or property is leased out or given, with an intention that its use shall be restricted to a particular purpose, which is clearly indicated while granting it, then the Grantor can definitely put a condition that it shall be used only for the purpose for which it is granted and if not, then it reserve the rights of resumption of the land/property and this principle is not unknown in law as whenever leases or grants under the Government Grants Act, 1895 are granted, it comes with a specific stipulation of the use of the said land,” the High Court said.
The Court also stated, “If the intention of the legislature was to protect the land of the Comunidade from being misused as it was granted for a specific purpose and if it is not put to use for the said purpose, and if the legislation intended that it would revert back to the Grantor i.e. Comunidade, we do not find any fundamental right of any person being violated, as we find sufficient nexus to justify the said object which is achieved by the legislation i.e. to protect the land of the Comunidade.”
The Court added, “In addition, as we do not find that there is any legal incompetency in enacting the said provision. More so, we refrain ourselves from testing the validity of the said provision at the instance of the Petitioner who has put in some hypothetical examples and we are not at all convinced by this contingency and stipulation, which may arise at the time of its applicability, but nonetheless, one who is impacted will be at liberty to challenge the same as and when the occasion arises.”
The amendment was introduced through Article 31 of the Goa Legislative Diploma No. 20270 (Amendment) Act, 2025. Article 31-A and its sub-clauses state that land belonging to a comunidade, given by way of sale, lease, emphyteusis or leave and licence, cannot be used for any purpose other than what it was granted for. Sub-clause (2) of Article 31-A further states that if the land is used for any other purpose, it will be taken back by the comunidade as per the process in Clauses (3) and (4).
