Rajasthan High Court Issues Notice On PIL Against Rajasthan Land Revenue Amendment Act 2025

 

The Rajasthan High Court has issued notices to the State of Rajasthan and to the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation in connection with a public interest litigation challenging the constitutional validity of the Rajasthan Land Revenue (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2025. The High Court bench, comprising the Acting Chief Justice and another judge, took up the matter after a PIL was filed which alleged that actions taken under Section 100A of the amended Land Revenue Act, as inserted by the 2025 Act, were unconstitutional and beyond the legal authority of the respondents. According to the petition, the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation had repeatedly acted beyond its lawful powers by granting permissions and executing deeds in favour of private parties in respect of land use conversions, building permissions, extensions of time, and supplementary lease deeds despite previous judicial rulings that RIICO lacked statutory power to grant such permissions.

The petitioner asserted that despite clear High Court orders which had quashed earlier conversion permissions and directed a status quo, RIICO continued to facilitate development and acted in a manner inconsistent with those judicial directions. The PIL contended that RIICO’s conduct involved granting change of use permissions and other instruments in land matters even after the High Court had held that the corporation’s statutory jurisdiction did not extend to such actions. It was submitted that such continued exercise of power undermined the rule of law because it ignored the legal position established by the earlier judicial pronouncements concerning land authority and use.

In response to the PIL, the High Court issued notices to the State government and RIICO, directing them to respond to the allegations. The bench clarified that any actions taken under Section 100A of the amended Land Revenue Act, which deals with land vested in or placed with RIICO, would have to be considered in light of the final adjudication in the writ petition challenging the statute’s validity. The Court observed that the legal effect of Section 100A and the actions taken pursuant to it could not be determined until the validity of the provision was conclusively decided. Therefore, the Court’s notice makes clear that all actions under the impugned provision will be subject to the ultimate outcome of the litigation concerning the Act’s constitutional validity and statutory interpretation.

The High Court’s intervention underscores that questions of statutory authority and the proper extent of powers granted under land revenue law must be balanced with respect for previous judicial decisions. The issuance of notices to both the government and the industrial corporation indicates that the Court intends to scrutinise the allegations raised in the PIL and to examine whether the actions taken by RIICO under the new statutory provisions have been lawful and constitutionally sound. The case continues to move through the judicial process, with the High Court having formally taken cognizance of the challenge to the 2025 amendment and having required official responses to the petition’s claims.

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