After studying a 160-year-old code, Supreme Court upholds rescinding of grant of land parcels by Portugal

The Supreme Court travelled nearly 160 years back in history to study the colonial Portuguese Civil Code of 1867 to decide the true ownership of plots of land the foreign power parcelled out to Indian ‘Alvara’ (permit) holders for cultivation in Dadra and Nagar Haveli in 1923 and 1930.

A three-judge Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant, in a judgment pronounced on Wednesday (September 24, 2025), made it a point to highlight that the land distributed by the Portuguese was of such poor quality even the cultivation of low-yield indigenous food grains, including nail, Hilland powerhad proved unviable.

However, the low quality of the land did not stop a legal wrangle from starting between the descendants of the original Alvara holders, including Divyagnakumari Harisinh Parmar, and the State, represented by the Collector, Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

The protracted court battle over the land began when the State administration, through the Collector, rescinded the Portuguese grants in 1974. The territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli were liberated from Portuguese domination in 1954, and were subsequently integrated into the Union of India pursuant to the Constitution (Tenth Amendment) Act of 1961.

“What is perhaps most striking about the instant case is not merely that this court is called upon to adjudicate a dispute originating over half a century ago, rather, it is the deeper irony that, even after 78 years of Independence, this court remains engaged in resolving a controversy arising out of land rights conferred by colonial powers that once exploited this nation’s wealth and resources,” Justice Surya Kant, who authored the judgment, observed.

Deciding the case, the apex court held that the Collector’s order of April 30, 1974 was not “tainted by mala fides” and could not be construed as having been passed with the intent to disentitle the appellants (descendants) from the statutory benefits under the Land Reforms Regulations of 1971.

The top court dismissed the appeals as devoid of merit.