After studying a 160-year-old code, Supreme Court rescinds colonial Portugal’s grant of land parcels

Wed Sep 24 16:50:13 UTC 2025: **Summary:**

India’s Supreme Court ruled on a land ownership dispute in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, tracing the origins of land grants back to Portuguese colonial rule in the 1920s and 30s. The dispute began when the State administration rescinded Portuguese grants in 1974. The court dismissed the appeal of the descendants of the original land grant holders, upholding the Collector’s order of 1974. The Court examined the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867 to determine the ownership of plots of land originally parcelled out to Indian ‘Alvara’ (permit) holders for cultivation in Dadra and Nagar Haveli in 1923 and 1930. The court noted the irony of resolving a post-colonial land rights issue decades after India’s independence.

**News Article:**

**Supreme Court Resolves Colonial-Era Land Dispute in Dadra and Nagar Haveli**

**NEW DELHI, September 24, 2025** – In a ruling that underscores the enduring legacy of colonialism, India’s Supreme Court has settled a long-standing land dispute in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The case revolved around land grants originally issued by the Portuguese colonial administration in the 1920s and 30s.

The dispute began when the State administration rescinded these Portuguese-era grants in 1974, prompting a legal battle between the government and the descendants of the original land permit holders. The Supreme Court, led by Justice Surya Kant, delved into the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867 to ascertain the validity of the land claims.

While acknowledging the irony of adjudicating a dispute rooted in colonial-era land rights nearly eight decades after India’s independence, the Court ultimately dismissed the appeal of the descendants. The Court upheld the 1974 order, finding no evidence of malicious intent in the State’s decision. The court observed that the distributed land was of poor quality. The ruling brings closure to a protracted legal saga, highlighting the complex challenges of land ownership and historical legacies in post-colonial India.

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