Allahabad High Court orders UP government to pay Rs 1.20 crore for Ayodhya temple land it took without payment
· Reported by Verdictum
The Allahabad High Court found the Uttar Pradesh government took possession of temple land next to the Ram Janm Bhoomi temple under a registered 2023 sale deed but never paid the Rs 1.20 crore land price, then tried to claim the land was government land instead of paying up. It ordered the state to deposit the amount with interest within four weeks while the temple trust's separate title suit against the state continues in the trial court.
What this changes for a title check
A search on land near the Ram Janm Bhoomi temple in Ayodhya now needs to track two things that will not show up in the revenue record alone: a registered December 2023 sale deed to the state that recites full payment despite the price only being deposited into court now, and a live title suit, Civil Suit 680 of 2024, where the state disputes the trust's ownership and calls the land Nazul land. The court's reliance on the settled rule that non payment does not undo a registered sale deed means the deed itself stays valid title evidence regardless of the payment dispute, but a lawyer should still flag the parcel as encumbered by pending litigation until the trial court decides ownership, expected within a year of this order.
Checking title on a property in Uttar Pradesh? Run a LegiScore title report and get the encumbrance, registration and revenue records read together.