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Introduction:

Understanding the Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020 in context of the illegal activities of land grabbing is a look out for this article. The Article will explain the intense situation which the state has been witnessing of increasing land grabbing activities from the past few years. The top tier cities of the state like Vadodara, Ahmedabad etc. have been stumbled by the rampant cases of the illegal encroachments of land, especially those which are declared as agricultural land and till date such activities are blooming. The activities are carried out with the motive and intention to benefit the corrupted brokers and dealers by creating false and fictitious details in the documents. The government has noticed some group of people breaking the law and obtaining the ownership of the land, which has created  a big problem for the real owners. Not only the private person like farmers etc are affected but also  governmental authorities, charitable organizations, religious associations, etc., are in deep trouble. 

Now, with such a situation in the state, the prices of the properties have soared up sky high and to the extent of  reaching out of the limits of the middle class people and this made an opportunity as the attractive asset for the targeted individuals. The corrupted agents are cracking the deals with the owners and thereby at the end of the property deal, pissing them off with the irrecoverable losses. With such a pitiable situation in the state, the government of Gujarat had to come up with an effective law in order to control the prevailing situation and hence introduced the Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Bill, 2020, in the State Legislative Assembly. With the approval of the bill by the assembly and signature of the governor on the bill, it became law and came into force as Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020, but with a prior date of 29th August 2020.

Analysis of the Important Provisions under the Act:

The state legislature has incorporated some crucial provisions under the Act with the intent to handle the situation in the state. Some of the key provisions are as follows:

1. Definition 

Section 2(d) : Land-grabbers: It is defined as those persons who are involved in the act of land-grabbing along with their successors in interest.

Section 2(e): Land-grabbing: It is defined as the activity of grabbing the land by the land grabbers with the intent to occupy the land over which they don't have the ownership, title or physical possession, with or without the use of force.

2. Land-Grabbing as an Illegal Activity and the punishment 

Section 3&4: Land grabbing is an illegal and prohibited activity. It is unlawful in every form. Also, such activities which are connected and incidental thereto such unlawful activity will be punishable under the act. 

A person who continues to engage himself with such land-grabbing activity shall be held guilty and the imprisonment of not less than 10 years will be levied on the person found involved in the land grabbing activity.

3. Delegated Power with the State government:

Section 7: The act empowers the state to constitute a special court to deal with the cases of land-grabbing by notifying in the official gazette. The jurisdiction of such a court will be defined by the state government which shall be final.

Section 8: The state government may appoint a public prosecutor for such special courts. Also, the state can make rules to perform the functions under the act as defined in section 16. Such rules will have to be presented before the state legislature and on the approval be notified in the official gazette.

Section 18: The government has the power to remove the difficulties under the act and implement the provisions of the act in the proper manner.

4. Power conferred on the Special Court:

Section 9: On an appeal preferred by any person or authority, the special court will adjudicate and decide the matter accordingly. However, such decisions of the court must comply with the principle of natural justice.

Section 10: The special court has powers similar to that of the Civil Court and court of Sessions. They shall exercise the rules of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, as the situation may require.

5. Burden of Proof and Investigation:

Section 11: The burden of proof to plead that the Defendant is not guilty of any offence lies upon him and unless proved otherwise, he shall be held guilty of offence.

Section 12: The police cannot directly record the information related to the offence under the act until and unless has the permission from the District collector.

Conclusion:

With the thorough knowledge and experience of reading the act, it can be concluded that some of the provisions of the Act infringe fundamental rights of the persons like some of the provisions under the act are arbitrary e.x. Just by a signature, any owner of property be it a  private person or government authority can become a lawbreaker. Also, the practitioner’s have criticized the act observing that there are relevant laws already in place to curb such land grabbing activity and there was no need to introduce new seperate law in place. And finally, the law has a retrospective effect which is a failure as it didn’t distinguish and differentiate between the various timelines in view of the crime.

Reference: 

1. https://blog.ipleaders.in/understanding-gujarat-land-grabbing-prohibition-act-2020/#Gujarat_Land_Grabbing_Prohibition_Act_2020_a_brief_background

2. https://www.deccanherald.com/national/west/constitutional-validity-of-gujarat-land-grabbing-act-challenged-in-high-court-950725.html

3. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/gujarat-land-grabbing-hc-amendments-7641855/

4. https://www.livelaw.in/columns/gujarat-land-grabbing-prohibition-act-2020-constitutionality-land-grabber-private-land-169760

Keywords:

Land Grabbing, illegal activity, corruption, dealer, broker, Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020, ownership, title, physical possession, prohibited activity, imprisonment, official gazette, law.