In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Haryana Amendment (1992) to the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961, which defines land reserved for common purposes during consolidation as 'shamilat deh' vesting in Gram Panchayats. The Court held that such land, once reserved for common purposes by applying proportionate cuts from proprietors' holdings, vests irreversibly with Panchayats as part of agrarian reforms protected by Article 31-A. Land cannot be repartitioned if unused, as 'common purposes' evolves with societal needs. Within ceiling limits, only management and control vest (not title). When Panchayat areas merge into municipalities, land vests with the municipality as statutory succession, not fresh acquisition. However, the Court struck down municipal amendments (1999) as unconstitutional, finding urban acquisition lacks agrarian reform justification.
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