Supreme Court Says Rehabilitation a Matter of Privilege, Not Right for Those Facing Haldwani Eviction

In 2024, the Supreme Court bench led by Justice Surya Kant, who was not CJI yet, had taken a different tone, saying that a 'high court cannot decide in a writ jurisdiction that a family has no claims' and that 'they are all human beings'.

The Wire Staff

supreme court says rehabilitation a matter of privilege not right for those facing haldwani eviction

File image: Police personnel patrol the Banbhoolpura area ahead of the Supreme Court order in the railway land encroachment case, in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. Photo: PTI.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on February 24 ruled that it is a matter of privilege, not right, for residents facing eviction due to a railway expansion at Uttarakhand's Haldwani to be rehabilitated – changing its stance significantly since 2024.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing the petitions challenging the December 2022 order of the Uttarakhand high court ordering the eviction of nearly 50,000 persons who are said to have been allegedly encroaching upon public land in Uttarakhand's Haldwani.

LiveLaw has reported that the bench held that nobody had the right to occupy public land and that even the right to be rehabilitated is "more of a privilege than a right."

"There is no question that it is the land of the state and it is prerogative of the state to decide how to use the land. Only thing is they have been staying there and now the issue is when they are asked to leave, they be given some cushion. Our prima facie view is that it is more of a privilege and less of a right," Justice Bagchi said.

CJI Kant, according to the LiveLaw report, said that the occupants cannot dictate how Railways should utilise the land.

The bench directed the Uttarakhand Legal Services Authorities to hold a camp after March 15 – after Ramzan – so families can apply for rehabilitation under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana.

In 2024, the Supreme Court bench led by Justice Surya Kant, who was not CJI yet, had taken a distinctly different tone, saying:

“We are dealing with human beings here. Ultimately, the high court cannot decide in a writ jurisdiction that a family has no claims. Some reasonable opportunity had to be given to those who were claiming some titles… Even assuming they are encroachers, they are all human beings. They have been there for decades,” the court observed.

This article went live on February twenty-fifth, two thousand twenty six, at thirty-seven minutes past twelve at noon.

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