Jaipur, August 11, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Rajasthan High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against late Kamla Beniwal, former Governor of Gujarat, and 16 other accused in a case involving alleged irregularities in the allotment and compensation of government land.
A bench headed by Justice Ganesh Ram Meena passed the order while hearing a petition filed by the accused. The court held that disputes over land rights pending before competent civil and revenue authorities cannot be given a criminal character.
The court observed that the dispute primarily concerned lease, ownership and khatedari rights over agricultural land, matters falling within the jurisdiction of civil and revenue authorities. Converting such disputes into criminal proceedings would amount to an abuse of the process of law, it said.
The High Court consequently set aside the trial court’s order taking cognisance of the case and a subsequent order of the Additional District Judge (ADJ) declining to interfere with it.
The court noted that proceedings concerning the disputed land were already pending before different legal forums. These included questions relating to tenancy rights granted to the petitioners in 1958, acquisition of the land by the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA), and references and distribution of compensation under the Land Revenue Act.
It observed that unless competent civil or revenue courts invalidate the rights in question, allegations of fraud and forgery based on those rights cannot be sustained through criminal proceedings.
The case originated from a complaint filed by Sanjay Kishore Agarwal on August 16, 2012. According to the complaint, the government had introduced a scheme in 1951 to lease unused agricultural land for cultivation for 20 years. The tenure was later extended to 25 years, after which the land was to revert to the state government.
On January 5, 1953, land was allotted to the Rajendra Singh and Others Kisan Collective Farming Cooperative Society in Jhotwara. The complaint alleged that the society was registered only later, on February 13, 1953, and that some members subsequently obtained khatedari rights despite allegedly providing incorrect information about their activities.
The government did not take back the land after the stipulated period. The JDA later issued a notification to acquire it for the Prithviraj Nagar scheme, under which society members were offered 15 per cent of the developed land as compensation.
The complaint alleged that members were attempting to claim compensation on the basis of false or incorrect information and that those seeking compensation were not among the society’s original members. The disputed land was estimated to be worth around Rs 400 crore.
Kardhani police station had initially submitted a Final Report (FR), effectively closing the case. The complainant challenged it through a protest petition, following which the trial court took cognisance on May 15, 2014, and ordered prosecution of Beniwal and the other accused.
The accused challenged the order before the ADJ, but the revisional court declined to interfere. They subsequently approached the High Court, which has now set aside both orders and brought the criminal proceedings to an end.
FOLLOW NOW
