The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has directed the Indian Army to pay rent to owners of land taken over by it in Sopore, citing security reasons.
Upholding a trial court order, Justice Sanjay Dhar asked the Army to pay rent for the land measuring nearly 3 acres in Sopore's Jalalabad area at rates fixed by the rent assessment committee, even as the force contended that it had requisitioned only 0.75 acres.
According to case details, the Army took over the land measuring 23 kanals and 14 marlas (nearly 3 acres) from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in 2011.
The land was originally requisitioned by the Border Security Force (BSF), which handed it over to the CRPF, before it was taken over by the Army.
The landowners claimed that they were not paid rent by the Army, which said it was occupying only 6 kanals (3,035 square metres) and 6 marlas (25.29 square metres).
The landowners also informed the court that they had been denied access to the remaining land, which has been barricaded with concertina wire by the Army for security reasons.
Justice Dhar said while it has been established that only 6 kanals and 6 marlas of the land were requisitioned by the Army, it was also established that the Army denied access to the owners to the non-requisitioned land.
"Thus, the Army is also obliged to pay compensation for the portion of the suit land measuring 17 kanals and 8 marlas, which falls outside the requisitioned land.
"This amount of compensation has to be assessed on the basis of the rent that is being paid by the Army to the owners for the portion of the suit land which has been duly requisitioned by them," the judge said.
(With inputs from PTI)