S PITCHAL Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner claims to be a pre-1961 encroacher upon government land at Corbyn's Cove village in the Port Blair Tehsil bearing old survey No. 10. The petitioner claims to have encroached onto land measuring about 1450 sq.m prior to 1961 and having retained the same.

(2.) In the writ petition, a challenge has been launched against the 2003 scheme relating to pre-1942 settlers. The 2003 scheme provides that excess land in the Port Blair municipal area which was in the possession of the pre- 1942 settlers up to the year 1961 could be regularized without levy of any premium subject to the following two conditions:

(3.) The petitioner says that the 2003 scheme is arbitrary and there is no rational basis for making a distinction between the pre-1942 settlers and the pre-1961 encroachers on government land. The petitioner says that there is no rationale that is disclosed in the notification of July 15, 2003 for discriminating against the other lots of encroachers on the basis of the period of occupation. More than this, the writ petitioner does not urge any ground challenging the underlying basis of the 2003 scheme.