Dismissed¶19

Kishore Sahu v. State of Odisha

Orissa HC13 Jan 2026WP(C)/20116/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

PIL; encroachment; village road; Plot No.1029; Saraswati Community Centre; Block Development Officer Rasulpur; Ac.0.02 decimal of Ac.1.69 decimal; public access; mandamus; writ petition dismissed; High Court of Orissa at Cuttack; Harish Tandon; M.S. Raman; 13.01.2026.

What did the court decide?

The Court found no justification in the petitioners' stand that the Community Centre should never be constructed; a handful of persons cannot stand in the way of extending benefits to the large section of society. ¶18

Kishore Sahu Vs State of Odisha — Orissa HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Dismissed

¶19

Issue for consideration

Whether the Government should remove the encroachers who have forcibly occupied the village road (alleged inaction). +1 more

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Court's answer

Accepting the Government's position, the roads are accessible to cater to the needs of the inhabitants of the locality, which cannot be doubted.

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Ratio / Principle

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Key takeaways

Once an initiative is taken for the benefit of the public at large, there is no fetter on the Government or the authority to make constructions, provided these do not hinder the villagers in commuting through the road.ratio¶18
No ground was found warranting interference in the writ petition, which was accordingly dismissed.ratio¶19

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

W.P.(C) No.20116 of 2025, High Court of Orissa at Cuttack (order dated 13.01.2026; bench: Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Murahari Sri Raman). Public Interest Litigation by Kishore Sahu and others alleging Government inaction in removing encroachers from a village road and seeking a mandamus to the Block Development Officer, Rasulpur not to construct the Saraswati Community Centre over a public road recorded under Plot No.1029. The State's affidavit disclosed that Plot No.1029 comprised Ac.1.69 decimal of land and the Community Centre would occupy only Ac.0.02 decimal. The Court held that such negligible use neither impacts free access nor hinders commuting, that a handful of persons cannot stand in the way of benefits to the large section of society, and that once an initiative serves the public at large there is no fetter on the Government to construct so long as the villagers' commute is not hindered. Finding the roads accessible and no ground warranting interference, the Court dismissed the writ petition.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK WP(C) No.20116 of 2025

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Kishore Sahu and others

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…. Petitioners

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Ms. Sasmita Manjari Dhal, Advocate

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-versus-

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State of Odisha and others …. Opposite parties Mr. Debashis Tripathy, AGA

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CORAM:

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THE HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE AND

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THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE MURAHARI SRI RAMAN

ORDER

Order No.

13.01.2026

1. The writ petition in the nature of Public Interest Litigation is taken out by the petitioners alleging the inaction on the part of the Government in not removing the encroachers from the village road, who have forcibly occupied the same. Further prayer is made for issuance of the mandamus upon the Block Development Officer, Rasulpur not to make the Community Centre over the said plot of land.

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In paragraph-6 of the instant writ petition it is averred by the petitioners that the construction materials have been stacked on a public road recorded under Plot No.1029 for construction of Saraswati Community Centre and, therefore, no construction can be made over the public road.

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Considering such statements, we invited the State to respond.

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3.1. An affidavit filed by the State would reveal that the said Plot No.1029 comprised of Ac.1.69 decimal of land and the Government has decided to construct a Community Centre building only upon Ac.0.02 decimal of land. Such negligible land used for the Community Centre neither impacts the free access to the villagers

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¶18

nor creates any hinderance in commuting thereat. The Community Centre is built on a small tract of land for the interest of the public at large, who will receive the benefit therefrom. Such Community Centre is not built by any private individual and, therefore, we do not find any justification in the stand of the petitioners that the said Community Centre should never be constructed. The handful of persons cannot stand in the way of extending benefits to the large section of the society. Once the initiative is taken for the benefit of the public at large, there is no fetter on the part of the Government or the authority to make constructions ensuring that it does not create any brindle into the villagers in commuting through it.

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According to the Government, the roads are accessible to cater to the need of the inhabitants of the locality which cannot be doubted. We, thus, do not find any ground warranting interference in the instant writ petition, the same is hereby dismissed.

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(Harish Tandon) Chief Justice

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(M.S. Raman) Judge

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MRS/Laxmikant

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Signature Not Verified

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Digitally Signed Signed by: LAXMIKANT MOHAPATRA Designation: Senior Stenographer Reason: Authentication Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack Date: 15-Jan-2026 17:23:42

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Kishore Sahu v. State of Odisha

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Kishore Sahu v. State of Odisha

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

Issues for consideration

Procedural history

Parties & counsel

Coram

Case details

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