Summary: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has told authorities to finish eviction proceedings against encroachers around the ancient Vishnu Barah Mandir at Majhauli, Jabalpur, preferably within three months, disposing of a petition pending since 2018. The 29 October order of Chief Justice Alpesh Y. Kogje and Justice Vivek Jain noted that authorities have already issued notices under the Land Revenue Code, after the encroachers’ own civil-court litigation had delayed action for years, as LawBeat notes. The bench left the petitioner free to seek an ASI declaration under the 1958 Act, since he had not yet approached the authority.
Why it matters: An ancient temple has waited eight years just to get a court to ask for eviction within a “preferable” three months, with encroachers using the civil courts to hold their ground. The window is advisory, not binding, so the test is whether the administration acts on its own notices or lets the clock run out.
Source: “MP HC Asks Authorities To Conclude Eviction Of Encroachers Around Ancient Vishnu Barah Mandir In 3 Months” by Himanshi Hans, LawBeat, 31 October 2026.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the authorities to conclude eviction proceedings against alleged encroachers around the ancient Shri Vishnu Barah Mandir in Jabalpur district as expeditiously as possible, preferably within three months, while disposing of a writ petition pending since 2018.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Alpesh Y. Kogje and Justice Vivek Jain passed the order on October 29 in Shravan Kumar Soni v. The State of Madhya Pradesh and Others, observing that the authorities had already set the legal process in motion against the encroachers.
The petition sought several reliefs. Soni asked the court to direct the Archaeological Survey of India to declare the monument an ancient monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, and take its possession. He also sought a direction to the State authorities to immediately remove the encroachment in terms of a Civil Court decree and the State Act of 1964, along with punishment of the encroachers under that law and its Rules.
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