MOTIHARI: At the age of 68, when most people begin slowing down, Habiban Khatoon stepped into a courtroom to fight for what she believed was rightfully hers – possession of 1 katha and 4 dhur of land. She finally received justice 35 years later, at the age of 103.The order led to celebrations in the family of Habiban, a resident of Bihar’s East Champaran district, who fought the decades-long legal battle against all odds. Their only regret is that her husband, Naimullah Ansari, is no longer alive to witness the moment. The dispute dates back to 1993, when Habiban’s eldest son Rahamtullah bought a plot of land from a villager, Afaque Ahmad, in his mother’s name. His cousin, Liaquat Hussain, too bought the same piece of land from Afaque two days after the registration of Habiban’s deed and took possession of it.Habiban filed a title suit against Liaquat in the court of Motihari sadar munsif in March 1994. After years of proceedings, she finally got a favourable order, but Liaquat challenged it before the district judge’s court in 2004. As the district judge also ruled in her favour, Liaquat moved HC in 2014. The HC, too ruled against him, but Habiban’s wait continued. She approached the sadar munsif court in 2014, seeking possession of the land. But the proceedings were delayed because of transfer of sadar munsifs and then Covid. After nearly 12 years, the proceedings finally became active again and she got possession of the land on Tuesday. However, justice came at a heavy cost as she had to sell all her valuables to bear the legal expenses. – Chandra Bhushan Pandey
