State Government conducts Eviction drive on Illegal occupation of Government acquired land at Dimapur Airport

GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND
OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER NAGALAND: KOHIMA

PRESS STATEMENT

 The State Government conducts Eviction drive on Illegal occupation of Government acquired land at Dimapur Airport as per the Eviction orders upheld by Hon’ble High Court.

The Hon’ble Gauhati High Court passed a judgment in favour of the State Government by an Order dated 27.05.2025 in CRP No. 105 of 2024 quashing the interim injunctions that had previously stayed eviction proceedings on land designated for the expansion of Dimapur Airport. This judgment delivered on May 27, 2025, in CRP No. 104 of 2024 and CRP No. 105 of 2024, empowers  authorities to proceed with the eviction of unauthorized occupants from Dag Nos. 38 and 40 of Diphuphar Village, land acquired for public infrastructure development.

The legal proceedings originated from an illegal occupation of Dimapur Airport land. Enquiry done by the Commissioner, Nagaland revealed that an individual, Shri. Atoshe had been issued an allotment of land for Dag No. 79 (97) at Ekaranipathar, Dimapur. However, he fraudulently entered it as Dag No. 97 and there are no official records to support this change. Furthermore, this allotment was granted without prior approval of the Government and in violation of a blanket ban on allotments of land vide NO. LR/2-21/88 Dated, Kohima, the 26th Oct, 1992. The Land Revenue Department, Government of Nagaland vide letter No. LR/7-44/DA/2008, dated 29-11-19, confirmed that was no record of land allotment to Shri Atoshe at Dag No. 97 Ekaranipathar, Dimapur.

Consequently, the Commissioner, Nagaland cancelled Shri Atoshe’s allotment on November 30, 2019, invoking Rule 26 of the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886, which empowers the Commissioner, Nagaland to cancel settlements/allotments lacking proper confirmation. Subsequently, the Commissioner, Nagaland directed the Deputy Commissioner, Dimapur, to initiate eviction proceedings against 22 individuals illegally occupying land at Dag Nos. 38 and 40 under Diphuphar Village, which had been acquired by the State Government and leased to the AAI for airport expansion. There are no documents supporting the claims of these 22 individuals over the airport land; their claims are based on Pattas purportedly issued for land in Ekaranipathar Village.

The Deputy Commissioner, Dimapur on December 5, 2019, cancelled the Pattas of these 22 individuals, which were based on Shri Atoshe’s cancelled allotment. An eviction order was subsequently issued on December 21, 2019, under the Nagaland Eviction of Persons in Unauthorized Occupation of Public Land Act, 1971, after the individuals failed to appear for a hearing based on flimsy grounds.

Although the eviction order was not challenged, its execution was inadvertently stayed by an interim order from the Gauhati High Court on January 8, 2020, in WP (C) No. 151/2020. Notably, the petitioners in their writ petition had explicitly stated they were not aggrieved by the eviction order and only sought to quash the cancellation of Shri Atoshe’s allotment and the subsequent cancellation of the 22 individuals’ Pattas.

The Advocate General, Nagaland, successfully moved for a modification of the interim order and on December 4, 2020, the Gauhati High Court clarified that the petitioners could only claim rights to land under Dag No. 79/97 at Ekaranipathar, not Dag Nos. 38 and 40 at Diphuphar Village. This writ petition was subsequently withdrawn by the petitioners.

Following the vacation of the stay/status-quo order being modified by the  Hon’ble High Court vide judgment and order dated 04-12-2020, the Deputy Commissioner, Dimapur on December 11, 2020, issued an order directing the 22 evicted persons to vacate the land at Dag Nos. 38 and 40 of Diphuphar Village within six days. However, 13 of these individuals challenged this order in the Civil Court, Senior Division, Dimapur, which granted a stay, leading to further appeals that were dismissed. The State Government then filed a Civil Revision before the Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench (CRP No. 104 of 2024).

Separately, Shri Atoshe filed a civil suit (Civil Suit No. 22/19) claiming right, title, and possession over land in Dag Nos. 40/100 and 117 of Diphuphar Village, and an interim application for status quo was also granted. The State Government also filed a Civil Revision against this (CRP No. 105/2024).

In its decisive judgment on May 27, 2025, the Hon’ble Gauhati High Court, Principal Bench, quashed both temporary injunctions and in CRP No. 105 of 2024, concerning Shri Atoshe’s case, the Hon’ble High Court held that injunctions cannot be granted for land acquired for infrastructure projects like airport extensions (citing Section 41 (ha) and Schedule of the Specific Relief Act). It further noted that the land patta for Dag No. A/40 was cancelled in 2005 and Shri Atoshe’s possession was illegal, making him a trespasser and therefore ineligible for equitable relief. The Hon’ble Court also highlighted Shri Atoshe’s suppression of material facts, as he failed to disclose the 2005 cancellation of his land patta.

Similarly, in CRP No. 104 of 2024, pertaining to the 13 evicted persons, the Hon’ble High Court reiterated that injunctions cannot be granted for land acquired for airport expansion and emphasized the discrepancy in Dag numbers noting that the respondents’ land was admittedly in Ekaranipathar, while the illegally occupied land was in Diphuphar. It was also pointed out that the petitioners had conceded in previous writ petitions that their land was in Ekaranipathar, not Dag Nos. 38 and 40.

This landmark judgment by the Hon’ble Gauhati High Court validates the actions taken by the Commissioner, Nagaland and Deputy Commissioner, Dimapur reaffirming the State Government’s authority to reclaim land essential for public development projects. Accordingly, the State Government proceeded with the eviction drive to ensure the unhindered expansion of Dimapur Airport.

Commissioner
Nagaland: Kohima