Gauhati High Court Holds Authority Cannot Enforce DV Order to Cancel LPC

The Gauhati High Court ruled that an authority cannot treat or enforce an order under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (DV Act) as a ground to cancel a Land Possession Certificate (LPC). The decision came in the context of a dispute concerning a DV‑related order and the subsequent attempt by a revenue‑law authority to cancel the LPC of the person against whom the DV order had been made.

In the case, a DV order had been passed, and later the revenue authority — relying on that DV order — initiated steps to cancel the LPC held by the respondent. The respondent challenged this act before the High Court, asserting that the DV order under the DV Act does not authorize or empower the enforcement agency (in this case, the revenue authority) to cancel a land possession certificate.

The High Court agreed with this contention. It held that the mere existence of a DV order does not automatically give license to a revenue or land‑recording authority to cancel legitimate land rights under revenue law. The Court underscored the principle that cancellation of an LPC must be based on lawful grounds specifically provided under the land‑revenue or land‑possession laws — not on orders under an entirely different statute dealing with domestic violence or related personal law issues.

Accordingly, the High Court quashed the cancellation notice/order — or ruled that the attempt to treat the DV order as a basis for LPC cancellation was legally impermissible. The Court’s decision ensures that statutory protections under the DV Act cannot be used to override or circumvent the statutory regime governing land possession and LPCs, safeguarding the procedural sanctity of land rights.

With this ruling, any attempt by a revenue authority to cancel an LPC on the ground of a DV order (or similar personal‑law order) stands invalid, unless the cancellation is justified under the applicable land‑possession law itself.