The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has sought a response from the Union Territory (UT) administration regarding the issues faced by Displaced Persons (DPs) of 1947 from Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK).
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal, addressed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Jammu Kashmir Action Committee, represented by Advocate Siddant Gupta. The PIL urges the court to direct the J&K authorities to address several matters concerning these displaced persons.
The court had previously granted time to the respondents on November 24, 2025, to seek instructions and file their response. During the recent hearing, Monika Kohli, Senior Additional Advocate General, representing the respondents, requested a formal notice to facilitate the filing of a detailed response. The court issued the notice, which Kohli accepted on behalf of the respondents, and requested a short period to file the reply. The matter has been adjourned until February 10, 2026.
The issue of PoJK DPs is a long-standing humanitarian concern stemming from the Partition of 1947 and subsequent Indo-Pak conflicts. An estimated 31,619 families crossed over from PoJK to the Indian side, with 26,319 settling within Jammu and Kashmir. Over the years, the government has implemented various policy measures, land allocations, and financial assistance programs to rehabilitate these families.
In a significant development, the Jammu and Kashmir government has granted land ownership rights to displaced persons from PoJK who settled in the UT decades ago. The Revenue Department, in response to a question during an Assembly session, stated that DPs from 1947, 1965, and 1971 have already received ownership rights under various government orders and acts. These include Cabinet Order No. 578-C of 1954, the Agrarian Reforms Act of 1976, and orders issued in 1966 and 2024. Recent orders in 2024 specifically address the transfer of evacuee land and proprietary rights to DPs, including West Pakistan Displaced Persons, who have maintained continuous possession of their allotted land.
The government has also been conducting awareness camps and preparing case files to expedite the process, ensuring that no eligible beneficiary is denied their rightful claim. The administration says it is in the final stages of granting complete land ownership rights to all displaced families across Jammu and Kashmir.
Furthermore, the government has granted over 9.23 lakh kanals of state and evacuee land, along with 2,421 urban plots and quarters, to PoJK DPs living in the Jammu region. This includes land allotted to DPs of 1947 in 1954, with proprietary rights granted on state land in 1965.
A Prime Minister's Development Package (PMDP) announced in 2015 included one-time financial assistance of Rs 5.5 lakh per family for 26,319 displaced families within the UT. The Ministry of Home Affairs extended the scheme's timeline to March 31, 2025, with an approved outlay of Rs 2000 crore.
Despite these measures, the High Court's intervention highlights the need for continued attention to the issues faced by PoJK DPs. The court is seeking a detailed response from the UT administration to ensure that the rights and concerns of these displaced persons are adequately addressed.
