New Delhi: After more than 70 years of independence, the Supreme Court of India brought closure to a Portuguese-era land dispute in Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The court upheld an April 30, 1974, order by the Collector of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, which rescinded possession rights over land granted to Indians by the former Portuguese government for cultivation.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and N K Singh highlighted the striking reality that even after 78 years, courts are still resolving claims originating from colonial powers that once exploited India’s resources.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli joined India in 1961, following liberation from Portuguese rule in 1954 and its integration as a Union Territory. During Portuguese rule, certain individuals received inheritable possession rights to vast tracts of land, with annual rent obligations. Over time, these lands were divided among descendants.
In 1969, the Indian government rescinded these allotments, returning the land to administrative control. The decision faced legal challenges before the Bombay High Court. The D&N Land Reforms Regulation of 1971 required land granted by the Portuguese to be cultivated regularly. The Collector’s April 30, 1974, order found the land uncultivated and took possession accordingly.
Heirs of the original landholders contested the order. The trial court quashed it in June 1978. The government appealed. The High Court ruled that a 1963 Lisbon court ruling could not dictate Indian judicial outcomes. Sovereign powers allowed the government to resume land allotted by the former colonial administration.
The Supreme Court dismissed appeals against the High Court decision in a 79-page judgment. Justice Kant wrote, “The appellants’ pleas of waiver, acquiescence, delay, impossibility and condonation have no legal or factual basis, and none of these principles render the Collector’s order, dated April 30, 1974, unsustainable.”
The bench said, “The Collector’s order was not tainted by mala fides and cannot be construed as having been passed with the intent to disentitle the appellants from the statutory benefits under the 1971 Land Reforms Regulation.”
This ruling marks the end of a decades-long legal saga, bringing finality to land disputes originating from colonial-era Portuguese governance.
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