Gangtok, Sept. 13: Twenty years of dispute over a piece of land in the centre of Sikkim?s capital has finally been resolved.

The Supreme Court has dismissed the special leave petition of the former additional advocate general of Sikkim, N.B. Khatiwada, who had claimed that he owned the plot, located next to NH 31A. He had claimed that former chief minister L.D. Kazi had ?gifted? him the land since he was his adopted son.

In its order, the two-bench court of Justice Arun Kumar and Tarun Chatterjee said Khatiwada had no locus standi to challenge the acquisition of the land by the state government. The apex court has also directed the government to take possession of the plot, which is currently being rented out to Bansilal Petrol Pump.

The said land was initially in the name of Kazi who later decided to hand it over to the government for which he received a compensation. Khatiwada later filed a special leave petition at the Supreme Court, claiming that Kazi, the first chief minister of democratic Sikkim, had gifted it to him.

The court observed that Khatiwada?s claim has been ruled out since the plot was in the name of Kazi, who had accepted the acquisition by the government by accepting the compensation. Khatiwada could never claim to be its owner, as the gift deed was never registered, the court said.

Another reason why Khatiwada could not possess the land was that according to Revenue Order No. 1 of 1917, which is protected under Article 371 (f) of the Constitution, a land belonging to a Bhutia Lepcha could not be sold to any other community. Kazi is a Bhutia while Khatiwada is a Nepali.

The government?s counsel in the Supreme Court, Brijender Singh Chahar, had written to the secretary of the land revenue department, K.N. Sharma, telling him that the government was now free to take over the land.

The government plans to erect a statue of L.D. Kazi on the site later. the 103-year-old former chief minister stays in Kalimpong.