Jharkhand Governor returns bill proposing to use 1932 land records to determine 'locals'

Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais on Sunday returned a bill, which proposes to use the 1932 land records to determine domicile status of people, to the state government for a review, according to a Raj Bhawan statement.

In a special session of the assembly on November 11 last year, the Jharkhand Definition of Local Persons and for Extending the Consequential Social, Cultural and Other Benefits to such Local Persons Bill, 2022 had been passed by voice vote.

The governor has asked the state government to "review the legality of the bill" and said that it should be "in accordance with the Constitution and orders and directions of the Supreme Court", the statement said.

Notably, the JMM-led government had urged the governor to give his consent to the bill and send it for the President’s approval.

According to the bill, people whose ancestors were living in the state before 1932 and whose names were included in that year’s land records will be considered local residents of Jharkhand.

During the review of the bill, it was found that the bill is "against the provision of the Constitution and orders of the Supreme Court", the statement said.