Shimla, Dec 10,

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has exposed deep structural flaws in the issuance of agriculturist certificates, warning that the existing system is so diluted that it has become vulnerable to rampant misuse in land dealings. Hearing a court-initiated PIL on November 26, a Division Bench of Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Justice Jiya Lal Bhardwaj remarked that under the current framework, “apparently it is easy to give a false declaration” and secure a certificate without actually meeting the statutory requirement of personally cultivating the land.

The Bench further cautioned that the 2010 instructions governing the process “need to be revamped… as it is always open to misuse by the persons who are not agriculturist,” signalling a serious breakdown in the safeguards

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