AP High Court Declines Compensation to Occupants of Government Land

The Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed compensation claims raised by persons occupying government land, holding that continuous possession, even extending over several decades or more than a hundred years, does not convert an illegal encroachment into a lawful right.

The case arose from petitions filed by residents of Gunadala, Vijayawada, whose structures were impacted by the construction of a railway overbridge and who sought compensation by asserting long-standing occupation.

The Court held that without title, patta, or regularisation, such occupants cannot be treated as landowners under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and are therefore not entitled to compensation.