Jharkhand Land Disputes: HC Directs Parties to Civil Courts

Property owners in Jharkhand seeking land demarcation will now have to approach the judiciary instead of the local circle office, following a new stay order from the High Court. Justice Ananda Sen observed that the current system, where revenue officials are tasked with measuring disputed lands, frequently circumvents the jurisdiction of civil courts. To ensure technical accuracy and legal integrity, the court suggested the appointment of ‘Survey Knowing Pleader Commissioners’ for land assessments, which would be supervised directly by the judiciary. This shift is designed to ensure that boundary determinations are treated as judicial evidence subject to rigorous legal standards. The court has put a temporary ban on all administrative demarcations.