Overview

• A division bench of Justices Vivek Singh Thakur and Bipin Chander Negi ruled that Section 163-A of the Himachal Pradesh Land Revenue Act is manifestly arbitrary and violates Article 14.
• The High Court ordered the state to evict 57,549 encroachments covering about 10,320 hectares by February 28, 2026.
• All stays on removal of illegal occupancies were vacated to enable immediate enforcement of eviction orders.
• The Supreme Court has barred the felling of green trees on forest land after an environmentalist appealed against their removal.
• The judgment highlighted conflicting mandates between Sections 163 and 163-A, calling the dual framework “mutually destructive.”