Srinagar, Mar 6: The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has refused to overturn its earlier judgment dismissing a plea by several shopkeepers challenging the rent fixation by the Rent Assessment Committee.

A bench of Justices Sindhu Sharma and Shahzad Azeem noted that the shopkeepers had accepted the allotment of land and undertaken to pay rent based on prevailing market rates, and are therefore “estopped from challenging the same at this stage.”
The appellants had argued that the rent of Rs 10 per square foot per month, with a 20% enhancement every five years, was arbitrary and substantially higher than that paid by other shopkeepers in the area. They claimed they were not given an opportunity to participate in the assessment process and alleged discrimination.
The court, however, observed that the rent was fixed objectively, based on location-specific market rates and in accordance with government orders governing the allotment. The bench found no merit in the appeal, noting that issues previously considered cannot be re-agitated, and dismissed the petition.
The shopkeepers are longstanding business owners who were relocated after the demolition of their shops during road widening in Sopore. The government allotted alternative land, and they constructed new shops at their own cost, agreeing to rent fixed by the committee. The High Court emphasized that the doctrine of estoppel applies, and the appellants are bound by their undertaking.
The court also clarified that rent differences were justified based on shop locations—shops on Nowpora Road, where the appellants’ shops are situated, were assessed higher than those on Kupwara Road.
If you want, I can also condense this into a 100-word newspaper-ready version that highlights the ruling and key points for quick publication. Do you want me to do that?