Hoshangabad: A local court here has
upheld Revenue Court`s decision declaring `illegal` a bungalow
built by Pradeep Kishan, filmmaker and husband of activist
Arundhati Roy, in a village in Pachamarhi hill station.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate V Kirangopal dismissed the
appeal of Kishan and three others, who also have their houses
in the same area, yesterday, Kishan`s counsel Sushil Goyal
said today.
In their appeal, Kishan, Aradhana Seth, Jagdish Chand
and N Yadav said they had built their dwellings lawfully in
revenue area and not in forest area.
Kishan and others filed the appeal in the SDM Court on a
direction from the Madhya Pradesh High Court in February. They
had filed a writ petition in the HC seeking setting aside of
the Revenue Court`s order of 2003 quashing their ownership
right on the land.
The four had bought land in Bariam village in 1993 and
got their houses built in 1995 after seeking all mandatory
sanctions, Goyal claimed.
However in 2003, sub-district revenue officer on a report
of a junior revenue official, cancelled their land rights,
stating the houses had been built on forest land area, where
sale or purchase of property is banned, he said.
"We are going to file an appeal with the Hoshangabad
Divisional Commissioner`s office against the dismissal of our
appeal," Goyal said.
-PTI
