High Court allows Gulmarg hoteliers to withdraw lease pleas

Srinagar, Mar 18: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has disposed of a batch of writ petitions filed by various hoteliers of Gulmarg after the petitioners sought withdrawal to pursue the settlement of the dispute with the government. These petitions called in question the constitutional validity of J&K Land Grant Rules 2022.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal allowed the withdrawal after senior counsel Z A Shah at the very outset submitted that it would be expedient if the petitioners were permitted to withdraw the petitions to enable them to move the Government in the first instance to resolve the dispute.

In response to the submission, senior AAG Mohsin Qadri, on instructions, submitted that the Government, too, was not averse to any fair, equitable and viable solution to the whole dispute.

The senior AAG submitted that in the event the petitioners move any representation(s) within two weeks, the same would be taken cognisance by the competent authority, according to the Court order of March 5.

“And the same shall be considered in the right earnest and before any formal decision is reached, the petitioners shall also be adequately heard. Whereupon, a decision taken by the competent authority shall be conveyed to all the petitioners individually”.

The Court observed that the counsel appearing in the petitions have already concluded their arguments and the matter was posted to hear senior AAG on behalf of the Government.

“In the wake of the position sketched out above and in terms of the statement made by learned counsel for the respective parties, we are not required to delve any further into the merits,” the court said and disposed of the petitions, accordingly.

“But before we part with the matter, we may hasten to record that we had heard these petitions at length on numerous occasions and invested considerable judicial time to take the matter to its logical end. And but for the changed position that has emerged before the Court, possibly we would have concluded the proceedings today itself” the Court said.

In 2022, the union Territory administration led by the Lieutenant Governor introduced the J&K Land Grant Rules.

The Rules were issued purportedly in exercise of powers under Section 4 read with Section 9 of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Grants Act, notified by the Government vide SO 668 of 2022 dated 09.12.2022.

Under the new framework, the practice of extending leases after their expiry was discontinued, and such properties are to be put up for auction through open bidding, making them accessible to any Indian citizen.

The impact is particularly evident in the tourist resort of Gulmarg, where a majority of hotels are built on leased land. As 55 leases have expired among 59 hotels leaving proprietors at risk of eviction and auction.