Supreme Court Bars Roadside Land Allotment to Non-Tenure Holders in Basti Consolidation Case

The Supreme Court bench of Justice S.V.N. Bhatti and Justice N.V. Anjaria decided Rama Pandey and Others v Ram Lal (Dead) through LRs and Others on November 5, 2026. It dismissed Civil Appeal No. 14160 of 2026 and affirmed the Allahabad High Court order setting aside the Deputy Director of Consolidation's allotment of roadside parcels to persons without prior tenure.

At the centre was Plot No. 159 in village Barahpur Pandey, Tehsil Harraiya, District Basti in Uttar Pradesh. Consolidation scheme proceedings there had commenced in 1973, according to the judgment. The litigation travelled to the top court through Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 15053 of 2017, registered as Diary Number 13205 of 2017, which culminated in the present appeal.

Roadside parcels went to outsiders

During the consolidation allotments, portions of land abutting the road were assigned to the appellants. The judgment records that those allottees held no prior tenure rights over the subject land. The rights of tenure holder in the parcel rested with the family of the late Ram Lal, represented through legal representatives, who were displaced from the roadside portion by that assignment.

In Allahabad, the High Court had set aside the allotment order passed by the Deputy Director of Consolidation. The Supreme Court judgment, uploaded that evening at 18:24:55, examined that intervention. The bench said roadside land cannot be allotted to persons lacking tenure rights at the cost of original holders.

With that finding, the bench dismissed the appeal with no order as to costs. The cause list described the matter as Rama Pandey vs Ram Lal (Dead) thr LR. The High Court order therefore stands, and the Deputy Director's allotment of the roadside portions to the appellants remains set aside. The original tenure holders represented by the late Ram Lal retain the protection of that outcome in the consolidation record for Plot No. 159.