: An administrative order passed without jurisdiction is amenable to a writ petition.

JUDGMENT :

(Bibek Chaudhuri, J.)

1. Indisputably, the petitioners are unauthorized occupants in respect of a piece of plot being No. 1676 appertaining to Khatian No.1 at Mouza Dakshin Purusattampur, J.L. No. 286 in Mandarmoni Coastal Police Station. It is also not in dispute that a proceeding under the provision of the West Bengal Public Land (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1962 was initiated against the petitioners and other unauthorized occupants on the basis of a report of the jurisdictional Block Land and Land Reforms Officer. The Collector and S.D.O., Contai adjudicated the said proceeding and passed an order of eviction. The petitioners challenged the said order by filing a writ petition before this Court. This Court disposed of the writ petition giving opportunity to the petitioners to prefer a statutory appeal under Section 7 of the said Act. The petitioners preferred a Mandamus Appeal before the Division Bench of this Court and the Division Bench presided over by the Hon’ble the Chief Justice disposed of the said appeal holding, inter alia, that the impugned order was passed in violation of the principles of natural justice. In such circumstances, the order dated 13th October, 2022 was set aside. The matter was remitted back to the Collector and S.D.O., Contai with a direction to supply a copy of the report of B.L. & L.R.O., Ramnagar and thereafter take a fresh decision in accordance with law after giving an opportunity of hearing to the appellants. Subsequently, as per direction of the Division Bench the report of the B.L. & L.R.O. was served upon the petitioners and the Collector-cum-Sub-Divisional Officer, Contai again passed the order of eviction against the petitioners. On the basis of said eviction order the petitioners were served notice by the respondent No.3 directing them to quit, vacate and surrender the peaceful possession of the plot in question by 2nd August, 2023.

2. Challenging the impugned order passed by the Sub-Divisional Officer on 10th April, 2023 and consequent notice issued to the petitioners by the respondent No.3 are challenged in the instant writ petition.

3. At the outset, the learned advocate for the State respondents has raised a question of maintainability of the instant writ petition on the ground that when the statute provides a remit by filing an appeal under Section 7 of the Act, the instant writ petition is not maintainable.

4. In reply thereto it is contended by the learned advocate for the petitioners that if the order impugned is passed by the authority without jurisdiction, the petitioners do not require to prefer an appeal and the writ petition is maintainable because the order itself is bad in law and mala fide having been passed without jurisdiction. In support of his contention the learned advocate for the petitioners refers to the following decisions:-

(i)..(1998) Volume 8 SCC 1 (Whirlpool Corporation – vs.- Registrar of Trade Marks, Mumbai.

(ii) (2021) 6 SCC 771 (Radha Krishan Industries – vs.- State of Himachal Pradesh and Ors.)

(iii) (2011) 14 SCC 337 (Nivedita Sharma –vs.- Cellular Operators Assn. of India).

5. It is no longer res integra that an administrative order passed without jurisdiction is amenable to the writ petition because the administrative authority assumes jurisdiction under the statute and if the statutory provision is not followed, entire proceeding is bad in law, mala fide and unsustainable.

6. Since the learned advocate for the petitioners submits that the impugned order is without jurisdiction, I like to hear out the instant writ petition on merit including the question of maintainability.

7. The learned advocate for the petitioners next draws my attention to the definition of ‘Collector’ contained in Section 2(1) of the West Bengal Public Land (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1962 (hereinafter described as the 1962 Act).

“Section 2(1) defines ‘Collector’ in the following words:-

2(1) ‘Collector’ means –

(a) in Calcutta the Land Acquisition Col