JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Mr G Kato, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Mr N Ratan, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent.

2. The petitioner has preferred an application under Section 50 of the Assam Frontier (Administration of Justice), Regulation, 1945 (hereinafter, in short, “Regulations, 1945”), read with Article 227 of the Constitution of India, for setting aside and quashing the order dated 23.12.2019, passed by the Deputy Commissioner, Aalo, West Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh, whereby, the appeal/petition filed by the respondent has been disposed of without giving proper chance of hearing to the petitioner. Alternatively, it is also prayed that a direction be made to the Deputy Commissioner, Aalo, to adjudicate the matter afresh by giving chance of hearing to the petitioner.

3. The brief facts of the case is that in the year 1997, at Doji Jeko Village, under West Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh, a village local keba was conducted to settle the ancestral WRC Land dispute between the father of the petitioner Late Limar Dozi and the respondent. The local keba was held on 09.02.1997. In the said meeting, father of the petitioner and the respondent had agreed for Chicken Liver examination in a traditional way to establish the ownership of the disputed land and thereby, entered into an agreement in presence of local Keba Gaon Buras, village leaders and keba members to accept the result of Chicken Liver test examination. Accordingly, the Keba Members appointed five Chicken Liver Examiners. The Chicken Liver examination is a customary law, which resulted in favour of Late Limar Doji, father of the petitioner. As such, local keba passed unanimous decision in favour of the father of the petitioner, declaring Limar Doji as owner of the disputed land. Since then, the father of the petitioner and the petitioner peacefully enjoyed the said land and the said land was under the passive possession of the petitioner.

4. It is also stated in the petition that the respondent remained silent for about 20 years. After death of the father of the petitioner, the respondent started to encroach the disputed land and on 09.02.2017, respondent removed the stone, erected as boundary in the disputed land. Thereafter the petitioner lodged complaint on 16.02.2017, before the Circle Oficer, Bagra, against the respondent for encroachment of the land of the petitioner. Following the complaint lodged by the petitioner the Circle Officer summoned the petitioner, respondent and some Gaonburahs of the said circle, but the respondent raised some objection against the chicken liver examination (traditional law) or local keba decision dated 09.02.1997, passed by the keba members.

5. The core issue of the objection of the respondent was against the decision and the name of the disputed land area and as such, the Circle Officer, Bagra, passed order dated 05.05.2017 by constituting special Keba committee comprising of Head Gaonburahs, and Gaonburahs to verify the disputed land and ordered to settle the case after spot verification on 12.05.2017. Thereafter, the constituted special keba committee visited the disputed land for spot verification on 05.05.2017 and found that disputed land is the land, which has already been in the passive possession of the petitioner, by way of customary law, i.e., Chicken Liver Examination. The special keba committee also clarified that the name of the land in dispute is Pake Nyeru.

6. Pursuant thereto, report and decision of the special keba committee constituted by the Circle Officer, Bagra, clearly reflected that the disputed land, be it named as “Pake Nyeru” or the “Loglu” is the same area and the owner of the said land was decided by the local keba in the year 2017, in favour of the father of the petitioner, but the respondent filed an appeal before the Deputy Commissioner, Aalo and notice was issued to the petitioner and accordingly, the petitioner had appeared before the Court on 22.08.2019 and pr