High Court Slaps Rs 10 Lakh Fine on Catholic Diocese & UP Govt for Land Grab

The Allahabad High Court fined the Catholic Diocese of Gorakhpur and the Uttar Pradesh government Rs 10 lakh for unlawfully seizing a villager's land, leaving his family without access for over 32 years. The court deemed the takeover illegal and dismissed the diocese's appeal.

The Allahabad High Court has ordered the Catholic Diocese of Gorakhpur and the Uttar Pradesh government to jointly pay Rs 10 lakh for illegally taking possession of land owned by a villager, Bhola Singh, who passed away during the case's pendency.

Justice Kshitij Shailendra, in his ruling on Tuesday, dismissed the diocese's appeal and criticized the State for its role in the unauthorized land seizure, which deprived Singh and his legal heirs of their property for more than three decades.

The court found that the state government improperly leased Singh's land to the diocese for hospital construction without rightful ownership. The ruling underscores the manipulation of documents by state machinery at multiple levels to facilitate the wrongful land transfer.

(With inputs from agencies.)