Gauhati High Court Questions Goalpara Demolition of 21 Homes on Patta Land

The Gauhati High Court has directed the Goalpara district administration in western Assam to explain what "imminent danger" prompted the demolition of 21 houses built on private agricultural land, after residents challenged the action.

The demolition took place in the early hours of September 7, 2026, when the district administration pulled down the homes of 73 families, most of them Muslims. Officials said the structures had been raised without permission on agricultural land and were obstructing water bodies and natural drainage channels. The drive marked a shift from the district's earlier evictions, which had largely targeted alleged encroachment on forestland.

Jahidul Islam and 20 other owners of the demolished houses moved the High Court. Hearing their petition the same day, the Bench of Justice Devashis Baruah took note of notices issued on September 5 by the Circle Officer of Matia Revenue Circle. Those notices warned of legal action if the villagers did not dismantle their dwelling houses within 24 hours, invoking a rule under the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886, along with provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Senior counsel Shantanu Borthakur, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that the houses were demolished less than two days after the notices were served and that the residents were given no opportunity to be heard.

In its order, the court observed that the Circle Officer's action prima facie appeared illegal, unauthorised and in violation of the principles of natural justice, which it described as a facet of the fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. It said it was "absolutely unthinkable" that notices could be served in such a manner today.

The Bench also examined the Assam Agricultural Land (Regulation of Reclassification and Transfer for Non-Agricultural Purpose) Act, 2015. It noted that Section 3(iv) of the law expressly dispenses with the need for permission from a District Commissioner where agricultural land of not more than one bigha (0.33 acres) is to be used or transferred for building one's own dwelling house, provided the construction does not exceed two storeys.

The court further recorded that the notices concerned patta lands belonging to the petitioners and did not disclose any imminent danger capable of justifying the invocation of such drastic powers on private land. It asked the government advocate representing the District Commissioner and the Circle Officer to obtain instructions and, at the next hearing, inform it without fail about the danger that necessitated the demolitions.

The petitioners have been permitted to file an additional affidavit placing on record the demolition and the losses they suffered. Until the next hearing, the court directed the District Commissioner and the Circle Officer to take no further action on the petitioners' lands.