AJK High Court Cancels 52 Illegal Land Allotment Decrees in Bhimber Shamilat Area

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir High Court has cancelled 52 land allotment decrees in the Shamilat area of Bhimber, declaring them illegal and ordering their removal from official records.

According to an official statement issued by the AJK Government’s Press Information Department, the disputed allotments were made in 2007 by the then Senior Civil Judge Bhimber, Raja Imtiaz, involving hundreds of kanals of village common land allocated to private individuals.

The High Court ruled that the allotments had no legal standing and directed the AJK Revenue Department to nullify all actions taken under the cancelled decrees and expunge them from property records. The court further ordered the immediate restoration of public-interest spaces, including a cemetery, playground, and other communal areas that had been unlawfully allotted within the Shamilat land, along with necessary corrections in revenue records.

Justice Sardar Muhammad Ijaz Khan, while exercising powers under Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure, also instructed the Mirpur Division Magistrate Court to submit the complete record of the issued decrees within two months. This will allow the court to examine the legality of other related land allotments.

Shamilat refers to village common land collectively owned by residents for shared purposes such as grazing, cultivation of grass, community facilities, and other public uses, and is not meant for private ownership or commercial sale.