Dharamsala, November 18 – The Himachal Pradesh High Court has issued notices to the Tibetan government in exile based here, and the State and Central government in connection with a petition filed by one Pawan Kumar, an Indian resident of Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, reported The Indian Express.
The High Court was acting on the petition from Pawan Kumar who challenged the permission granted to a few Tibetan refugees to purchase land in the state.
The court directed that all the land purchase deals to be approved by the deputy commissioners or other revenue authorities in the near future would be conditional and subject to the final outcome of the decision of the court on the petition.
The court has further directed all respondents to file their reply within two months. The matter has been listed for March 21, 2011.
Petition was heard on Tuesday before the division bench of Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice V K Ahuja.
The petition highlights cases of about 24 Tibetan refugees who have been allotted land in alleged violation of section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, as per which non-Himachalis cannot buy land without special permission of the state government. Petitioner has claimed that Tibetan refugees staying mainly in Shimla, Dharamshala and Mcleod Ganj, Kullu-Manali and Rewalsar have purchased land on their name in connivance of revenue authorities, by producing forged documents in violation of the law.
However, the Himachal government in 2005 decided to extend the land lease for the Tibetan refugees living in the state by 50 more years. The then Chief Minister of Himachal Virbhadra Singh announced on December 28, 2005, to allow the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) as the Tibetan government in exile is officially called, to purchase and register the land directly without assistance of a middleman.
The petitioner has also sought the court’s intervention in setting aside such “illegal” land transactions. He has also raised a question over unfurling or hoisting of the Tibetan national flag in the premises of the Tibetan government in exile, their offices and monasteries on Indian soil. The petitioner has challenged it as unconstitutional activity on Indian land and has sought removal of the flags.
Himachal Pradesh has been the home to the Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama and several thousand Tibetans for more than five decades. The headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile are also located in Dharamsala, winter capital of the state.
