In Brief
The Supreme Court dismissed multiple Special Leave Petitions challenging High Court judgments regarding Shamlat Deh (village common lands) under the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961. The Court held that the 1995 amendment protecting allotments on quasi-permanent basis applies only to displaced persons as defined in international law (forced displacement due to armed conflict, strife, or persecution), not to landless Harijan residents. A lease for a fixed term differs fundamentally from allotment and does not transfer ownership rights. Lessees remaining after lease expiry are unauthorized occupants. Non-framing of formal issues does not vitiate proceedings where parties understood actual issues and led evidence on them. Lands recorded as Shamlat Deh in revenue records vest in Gram Panchayats under the Act.
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