Court says State acted arbitrarily by charging Rs.38,400 per sq. yd. after decades of delay; directs allotment and related formalities within two months.
Chandigarh, Sept. 7, 2026: In a significant relief to shopkeepers displaced during Operation Blue Star in 1984, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Punjab Government to allot commercial booths/sites to the oustees at the same rate as the Galiara Scheme, i.e. Rs.1,000 per square yard, along with all other associated benefits of the scheme.
A Division Bench of Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri and Justice Pravindra Singh Chauhan passed the order while disposing of four connected writ petitions filed by Blue Star oustees who had been seeking rehabilitation for over four decades. The Court held that the State’s decision to charge Rs.38,400 per square yard was arbitrary, discriminatory and violative of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
The petitioners had argued that they were displaced in June 1984 when Operation Blue Star was carried out around Sri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, and that their shops and belongings were destroyed in the process. They contended that the Punjab Government had repeatedly, in 1991 and again in 2006, decided to rehabilitate them on the same lines as the Galiara oustees, who had been allotted sites at concessional rates. Despite those assurances, the rehabilitation scheme for the Blue Star victims remained unimplemented for years.
The High Court noted that the Galiara Scheme, framed in 1988 for beautification and planned clearance around the Golden Temple complex, had offered commercial sites to tenants at Rs.1,000 per square yard, with additional subsidies and instalment facilities. The Court found that the petitioners, who were displaced earlier and under more severe circumstances, were being unfairly treated by being asked to pay market-linked rates.
Referring to the doctrine of promissory estoppel and Supreme Court precedents, the Bench observed that the State could not resile from its earlier commitments and create an “artificial discrimination” between similarly placed oustees. The Court also criticised the prolonged delay, noting that the issue had remained unresolved for 42 years.
The Bench issued specific directions that the Blue Star oustees be allotted booths/sites at Rs.1,000 per square yard, that the 18 persons who had already accepted allotment at Rs.38,400 per square yard not be disturbed, and that five remaining eligible persons who had not yet been considered due to non-availability of space be offered alternate sites at the concessional rate as well. The amount of Rs.10,000 per square yard deposited earlier before the Supreme Court is to be adjusted against the final cost, with any excess refunded by the State.
The Court further directed that all consequential formalities, including registration of sale deeds and delivery of possession, be completed within two months.
Bottom Line :
Rehabilitation of oustees of Operation Blue Star - State Government directed to allot booths/sites to oustees of Operation Blue Star at the same rate as that of the Galiara Scheme (Rs.1,000/- per square yard) along with all other benefits of the Galiara Scheme.
Statutory provision(s): Articles 14, 19, 21, 226, 227 of the Constitution of India, Section 8 of Punjab Town Improvement (Utilization of land and allotment of plots) Rules, 1983
Yashpal v. State of Punjab, (Punjab And Haryana)(DB) : Law Finder Doc id # 2977409
