Karnataka High Court Issues Directions On Using Technology To Resolve Title Disputes, Protect Forests; Forms Panel To Oversee Implementation
The Karnataka High Court passed a slew of directions to incorporate use of modern technology to resolve complex title disputes and protect forest areas from illegal conversion, including formation of a high level committee of various State departments' officials to oversee the implementation of its directions. Justice Suraj Govindaraj passed the order while considering a land dispute case...
The Karnataka High Court passed a slew of directions to incorporate use of modern technology to resolve complex title disputes and protect forest areas from illegal conversion, including formation of a high level committee of various State departments' officials to oversee the implementation of its directions.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj passed the order while considering a land dispute case and noticed:
"traditional, paper-based, and siloed administrative systems are inadequate to resolve complex land title conflicts. While Karnataka has made significant strides in land records modernisation, the current situation proves that digitisation alone is insufficient. The critical failure is the lack of a single, unified source of truth".
Noting the limitations of the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme as presented by the matter before it, the court noted that while records are digitised, they are not necessarily integrated.
It thereafter directed the constitution of a joint, high-level committee which shall be convened, comprising representatives from the Chief Secretary's office, and the heads of the Land and Revenue, Forest, and Urban Development Departments, the Law Department, a law officer like an Additional Advocate General and such other departments that the Chief Secretary, in her wisdom, may decide.
The committee is to oversee the phased implementation of the following directions issued by the court, resolve inter-departmental conflicts as they arise, and provide a quarterly compliance report to the court.
“Such a committee, with its multi-sectoral expertise, can bridge the gap between departments and prevent the "abdication of responsibilities" that has historically plagued environmental administration,” it said.
The committee is to consider the following directions issued by the court:
Automated System
An automated system must be built on top of the integrated geospatial platform to streamline all land related applications. This system would ensure that no land-related action is taken without mandatory, real-time verification against the unified database.
Conflict Alert
If a parcel falls within a notified forest boundary, the system must automatically reject the application and generate a "Conflict Alert" for all concerned departments. Similarly, the Sub-Registrar's Office must be linked to this system to prevent the registration of any sale deed for a parcel with a "Conflict Alert," as the existence of litigation or dispute over a property makes it difficult to legally transfer. The online portal for building plan approvals would also be required to integrate with this system to automatically verify that the land is legally converted and free from disputes.
Publicly Accessible Portal: the portal is to empower citizens and foster public trust, the unified platform must include a publicly accessible portal. Through this portal, any individual, including prospective buyers, can enter a ULPIN, a survey number or such other identifiable details to view a comprehensive, colour-coded report of the land parcel.
This report would display the land-use classification, ownership history (mutation records), details of any litigation or encumbrances, and a clear, explicit warning if the land falls within a notified forest boundary and or reserved for any public purpose or a no development zone.
“This transparency mechanism would serve as a powerful deterrent to fraud, enabling citizens to perform their own due diligence and effectively acting as a "fraud alert" for every future buyer. By allowing the public to easily verify land status, it would address the core issue of a lack of information, which results in misinformation that leads to fraudulent transactions,” it said.
Reconciliation of Historical Records
The Department of Land and Revenue is directed to immediately undertake a time-bound, state wide project to reconcile all historical records which may be maintained as regards a particular land or any other register where the details of that particular property are available, with the digitised forest and revenue maps.
“The outcome of this reconciliation must be a single, authenticated, and immutable record for each land parcel. The power to rectify errors in revenue records is limited to clerical and typographical mistakes and cannot be used to alter fundamental land rights or ownership without a proper legal process,” it said.
ULPIN Implementation: The department shall ensure the mandatory adoption and use of the Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) for all land parcels. The ULPIN shall serve as the primary key for linking all textual, spatial, and legal data for each parcel, ensuring data integrity discrepancies and preventing the future.
Establishment of an Inter-Departmental Land Dispute Resolution Cell (IDLDRC)
A dedicated, high-level cell, comprising representatives from the Revenue Department, the Forest Department, and Urban Planning Authorities, shall be established under the direct supervision of the Chief Secretary.
This cell shall be the sole body authorised to mediate and issue binding, inter-departmental rectification orders for conflicting records.
Digital Demarcation of Boundaries
The Forest Department is directed to complete the mandatory geo-tagging and digital demarcation of all notified forest land boundaries, based on historical gazette notifications. This geo referenced data must be integrated into the central geospatial platform established under these directions. The Forest Survey of India, through its use of remote sensing and satellite data, can create digital maps of forest boundaries with a high degree of precision, which is essential for this task.
Mandatory Geo-Verification
The department shall be legally barred from issuing any notice or initiating prosecution for alleged encroachments without first verifying the land parcel's location against the unified, geo referenced database. Once the system is set up all future notices must explicitly include the land parcel's ULPIN and a geo-referenced map.
Alerts
There may be cases where diversion of forest land is made without seeking for necessary permissions or in excess of permissions granted, in such situations, an alert mechanism to be incorporated in the digital maps, to monitor any changes, which alert would be sent to all the concerned officers of the Forest and Revenue department to enable them to take immediate action.
Mandatory Automated Conflict Checks
All urban planning authorities and local bodies shall be under a legal obligation to perform a mandatory automated conflict check against the unified land database before sanctioning any layout plan, land conversion, or building permit. Any application related to a land parcel identified as forest land shall be automatically and immediately rejected by the system.
Accountability of Officials
Any official who issues any order/licence/permission/no objection, like a land conversion order or a plan sanction, etc., on a land parcel with a conflicting title, after the implementation of the automated verification system, shall be held personally accountable for his actions.
The court said that the directions are to be done in a time-bound, phase-wise manner divided in three parts:
Phase I (Immediate - 3 months):The IDLDRC and HLC are to be established. Mandatory data sharing protocols for all new land transactions must be put into place, ensuring no new contradictory records are created. These protocols would function like "data contracts," ensuring a common understanding and quality of data exchanged between departments.
Phase II (Mid-term – 3 months to 1 year): The unified geospatial platform and the automated verification system must be completed and made operational. The ULPIN shall be implemented for all new land parcels, and a public-facing portal shall be launched to enable transparency and citizen due diligence.
Phase III (Long-term - 1-2 years): The full integration of all legacy records will be completed.
The court said that the committee is free to consider any other aspect/s relevant to formulate a comprehensive methodology for bringing about transparency and efficiency while protecting the most revered and vulnerable forest areas as also other no development zones in the state.
Case title: Mohammed Shoiab AND State of Karnataka & Others
Case No: WP 19674 OF 2024 (GM-FOR) C/W WRIT PETITION NO.392 OF 2021
2025 LiveLaw (Kar) 279