P. S. Mishra, J.

1. Petitioner herein has moved this Court for a writ in the nature of certiorari for quashing the order dated 2-4-1987, passed by the Joint director of Consolidation, Bihar, Patna, dated 19-11-1984 of the Deputy director of Consolidation, Muzaffarpur, and dated 21-8-1980 of the Consolidation officer, Baruraj, on grounds, inter alia, that they are not competent to decide a pure question of title and that they have acted without jurisdiction in ingnoring a Civil Courts, decree recognising a gift with respect to land in dispute.

2. Respondents were noticed to show-cause and when after their appearance the case was heard by a Division Bench on -25-1-1989 and on 17-2-1989, it was referred to a Full Bench and accordingly heard. Besides learned counsel for the parties, Mr. Basudeo Prasad and Mr. Kamal Nayan Choubey, learned advocates have addressed the Court on the questions of law. Learned Advocate general has argued on behalf of the State.

3. The Bihar Consolidation of Holdings and Prevention of Fragmentation act, 1956 (Bihar Act XXII of 1956) (hereinafter to be referred to as the Act)received the assent of the President of India on the 6th September, 1956 and was published in the Bihar Gazette, of the 10th October, 1956. The Act which has purported to provide for the Consolidation of Holdings and Prevention of fragmentation has defined a holding to mean a parcel or parcels of land held by a Raiyat and forming the subject matter of a separate tenancy, land to mean agricultural land including horticultural land, Kharaur land, Jand with bamboo dumps, pasture land, cultivable waste land, homesteads, tanks, wells and water-channels ; and a raiyat to mean a person who has acquired right to hold land for the purpose of cultivating it by himself or by members of his family or by hired servants or with the aid of partners including the successors-in-interest of persons who have acquired such a right, a village headman in respect of his private holding in the district of Santhal Pargsinas, a Mundan khunt Kattidar and a Bhainhar in the areas to which the Chota Nagpur tenancy Act, 1908 applies. It has defined consolidation to include rearrangement of parcels of land comprised in a holding or in different holdings for the purpose of rendering such holding or holdings more compact, and fragment to mean a piece of land being in area less than the standard area determined in Sec.30 thereof. Chapter II of the Act has dealt with consolidation of holdings. Sec.3 thereof states that with the object of effecting consolidation of holdings for the purpose of better cultivation of lands in any area the State Government may, after such enquiries as it may deem fit, by notification in the official Gazette, declare its intention to make a scheme for consolidation of holdings in that area and make publication of the substance of the notification by beat of drum in the villages comprised in the notified area, by copies of the notification hung up at the offices of all the Gram Panchayats, the police stations, the offices of the Anchal Adhikaris and the village Cutcharies of the State Government. There has, however, been several amendments to the Act including in Sec.4 thereof which originally provided that during the period commencing from the date of the publication of the notification under Sec.3 to the date when the scheme of the consolidation came into operation under Sec.14 in any notified area, no suit or other legal proceeding in respect of any land in such area would be entertained in any court and in calculating periods of limitation applicable to suits and proceedings, such periods would be excluded and all suits and proceedings pending in any court, in respect of any land in such area would remain pending and would thereafter be dealt with in conformity with the provisions of the Act, but nothing would apply to any proceeding under Chapters XI and XII of the Code of Criminal procedure, 1898 or to any suit or proceeding unle