The Jharkhand High Court has dismissed a writ petition challenging an order of the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), Chas, directing police deployment to maintain possession over disputed land, holding that the order was passed to preserve law and order and did not warrant interference under Article 226 of the Constitution.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi observed that the dispute involved competing claims of title, possession and encroachment, which could not be adjudicated in writ proceedings. The Court also noted that the petitioner had failed to produce the sale deeds despite stating that they would be placed on record, thereby withholding material documents relevant to the dispute.
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The Court held that questions relating to identification of land and encroachment require evidence and cannot be decided under Article 226. It further reiterated that judicial review of executive measures taken to maintain law and order is limited and courts should not interfere unless the action is shown to be arbitrary, without jurisdiction or patently illegal.
Finding that the SDO’s action was taken to maintain public order and that no case of arbitrariness or abuse of power had been established, the Court dismissed the writ petition.
