The main legal point established in the judgment is that the competent authority under the Bihar Land Disputes Resolution Act, 2009 is limited to adjudicating disputes arising from specific enactments listed in Schedule I of the Act and must refer complex issues of title to the civil court.

1. I have heard the parties and have perused the records of this case.

2. The petitioners have qustioned the authority and jurisdiction of the respondent no. 3 under the Bihar Land Disputes Resolution Act, 2009 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) in entertaining B.L.D.R. Case No. 10 of 2011-12 and passing the order dated 27.07.2011, as contained in Annexure 5, by which he has decided the case in favour of the respondent no. 5 and has directed the petitioners to hand over the vacant possession of the land and house in dispute in his favour. He has directed the Circle Officer, Buxar and the Officer-in-charge, Buxar Mufassil to ensure such delivery of possession in favour of the respondent no. 5.

3. Short facts which would be necessary for consideration of the issue concerned stand enumerated as under:-

4. The dispute relates to the land and house standing over plot nos. 3673 and 3674 appertaining to khata no. 233 of an area of 1380 sq. feet situated at Buxar Killa, Ward No. 34, town and District Buxar. The aforesaid land originally belonged to Mitralok Grih Nirman Samiti Limited (hereinafter referred to as “Housing Society”), a society registered under the Bihar and Orissa Cooperative Societies Act, 1935. In the year 1999 one of the members of the Housing Society, namely, Dashrath Sharma, acquired the aforesaid land by allotment and registered sale deed executed in his favour by the Housing Society with a condition that if the purchaser does not construct his house within the fixed time period then the vendor would be entitled to cancel the allotment and the sale. In support thereof, a copy of the sale deed dated 22.10.1999 executed by the Housing Society in favour of one Dashrath Sharma has been appended as Annexure 6 to the counter affidavit filed by the petitioners in response to the I.A. No. 1196 of 2013. Further case of petitioners is that aforesaid Dashrath Sharma could not construct his house within the stipulated period and, thus, he had surrendered the land to the Society and taken back the consideration amount. Thereafter, the Housing Society transferred the land in favour of the petitioners through a registered sale deed dated 20.04.2010. Delivery of possession was accordingly made in favour of the petitioners. However, the aforesaid Dashrath Sharma illegally executed a sale deed in favour of the respondent no. 5 on 30.06.2010 which is the genesis of dispute between the parties.

5. It has also been stated that the petitioners had already filed Title Suit No. 193 of 2011 in the court of the Civil Judge, Senior Division I, Buxar, for declaration that the sale deed dated 20.04.2010 executed in favour of respondent no. 5 is null and void and has not created any right and title in his favour. A copy of the plaint has been brought on record as Annexure 4 to the writ petition.

6. Respondent no. 5 filed a case before the Deputy Collector Land Reforms, Buxar (hereinafter referred as “DCLR”) vide B.L.D.R. Case No. 10 of 2011-12 under the provisions of the Act. A copy of the petition has been appended as Annexure 2. It is a short petition in which it has been stated that the respondent no. 5 has purchased the land from the allottee and transferee of the Housing Society, namely, Dashrath Sharma through a registered sale deed dated 30.06.2010 and, thereafter, came in possession of the same. Land was mutated in the name of the respondent no. 5 who started paying rent to the State of Bihar and Nagar Parishad concerned. Electricity connection was also given in the name of the respondent no. 5. However, when the respondent no. 5 went to his village for attending marriage ceremony and also for his personal work, the petitioners, taking advantage of his absence, broke open the lock and entered into the premises. When he came back from his village, the petitioners threatened him with dire consequences, thus, he filed the aforesaid case making a prayer for passing order for dispossessing the opposite parties-petitioners and rever