Srinagar, April 25:The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has dismissed an intra-court appeal filed by villagers from Kargil, upholding an earlier order that sent a long-pending land dispute back to revenue authorities for fresh consideration after hearing all stakeholders.

A division bench of Justices Sanjeev Kumar and Sanjay Parihar ruled that the earlier writ court decision was legally sound and required no interference.
The case involves a dispute over nearly 11,000 kanals of state land in Kargil, along with a separate 1,500 kanals already mutated in favour of another group of villagers.
The appellants, led by Mohammad Hassan and others from Silmoon and Surchey villages, had approached revenue authorities in 2017, alleging risk of encroachment on land locally known as Musber Thang and Thunder Thang. Acting on their plea, the Settlement Commissioner had directed authorities to safeguard the land, a decision later upheld by the Financial Commissioner.
However, another group led by Shakoor Ali challenged the order, arguing that 1,500 kanals had already been legally transferred in their favour and that they were not heard in earlier proceedings.
In 2025, the writ court set aside the Financial Commissioner’s order, citing lack of hearing for affected parties and concealment of ongoing litigation, and remanded the matter for fresh consideration.
Upholding this, the division bench observed that the appellants had failed to disclose existing disputes and had presented themselves as acting in public interest despite ongoing litigation. The court also questioned the validity of proceedings before the Settlement Commissioner under Section 15 of the Land Revenue Act.
While acknowledging concerns over protecting state land, the court stressed that due process must be followed and all parties must be heard.
Dismissing the appeal, the bench directed the Financial Commissioner to rehear the matter, ensure participation of all stakeholders, and clearly determine whether the 1,500 kanals form part of the larger 11,000 kanal land parcel.