SC maintains Status Quo on Himachal Land Revenue Act dispute involving 163A

The Supreme Court of India today directed ‘ Status quo’ after hearing a petition filed by Dr. Onkar Singh Shad, former General Secretary of CPI(M)-affiliated Himachal Kisan Sabha, challenging the Himachal Pradesh High Court judgment that struck down Section 163A of the Himachal Pradesh Land Revenue Act.

The matter was listed at serial number 56 before a bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta. Registered as SLP(C) the case was filed on September 16 and came up for admission hearing today. Speaking after the hearing, Dr. Shad said, “The Supreme Court has tagged our intervention application with the SLP and directed status quo. This is a significant step to safeguard the interests of farmers and revenue administration in Himachal Pradesh.”

On August 5, 2025, the Himachal Pradesh High Court in Poonam Gupta vs State of Himachal Pradesh had held Section 163A to be arbitrary and unconstitutional. A division bench of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Bipin Chander Negi, directed the state to initiate eviction proceedings against all such encroachments that were to be covered under the now-defunct provision and had  struck down Section 163-A of the Himachal Pradesh Land Revenue Act, 1954, declaring it unconstitutional. The section deals with certain powers and procedures relating to land revenue administration, including mutation and correction of records.