In Brief
The Supreme Court recalled a previous judgment dated 7 April 2022 (Civil Appeal No. 6990 of 2014) on the grounds of material errors manifest on the record. The case concerns whether lands reserved for common village purposes under Haryana consolidation schemes can be redistributed to proprietors if unutilized. The Court held that the judgment erred in ignoring binding precedent from the Constitution Bench case Bhagat Ram, which held that management and control of reserved lands vests in the Gram Panchayat only upon change of possession, not mere assignment. The judgment also failed to address over 100 consistent High Court decisions applying the same principle and ignored arguments based on the doctrine of stare decisis. These omissions constituted patent errors undermining the judgment's soundness, warranting recall and restoration of the appeal for fresh hearing.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.