2015 Supreme(Raj) 204
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN BENCH AT JAIPUR
SUNIL AMBWANI, PRAKASH GUPTA, JJ.
BUDH SINGH - Petitioner
Vs.
STATE OF RAJASTHAN & ORS. - Respondents
D.B. CIVIL WRIT PETITION NOS. 6468/2005 & 13881/2008
Decided On : 11-3-2015
Advocate Appeared:
Mr. Vimal Choudhary, for the petitioners.
Mr. K.K. Mehrishi, Senior Counsel assisted by Mr. Sanjay Mehrishi, Mr. Anil Kumar Garg, Mr. Dharamveer Tholia, Additional Advocate General with Mr. Varun Choudhary, Mr. Rajan Prajapati, Mr. Sumit Taterwal & Mr. Himanshu Tholia, for the respondents.
Headnote:Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956, Secs. 83, 91; Rajasthan Land Revenue (Allotment of Land for agricultural Purposes) Rules, 1970, Rule 12, 17, 20 - Jurisdiction of the State Revenue Minister to regularise the land in favour of unauthorised occupants - Govt. Land measuring 96.17 bigha - Allotted to an Agriculture Cooperative Society for 25 years - Never cultivated - Not statutory requirements were complied with - Cancelled allotment and resumed the land yet they continued to occupy it - In proceeding u/S. 91, they were evicted - Filed revision u/S. 83 of the Act after 5 years - State Revenue Minister entertained it and regularise their possession - Held - The Revenue Minister usurped the powers vested in Executive Officers - She acted in defiance of the Rules of Business - Revision was barred by limitation and could not be entertained without condoning delay - Utter violance of provisions of Rule 11, 12, 13, 14, 17 and 20 of the Rules of 1970 - Order quashed.
Writ petition No. 6468/2005 allowed. (Paras 26, 28 to 32)
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1. We have heard learned counsel appearing for the parties.
2. By D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.6468/2005, filed in public interest, the petitioner, resident of Kasba Pahadi, Teshsil Pahadi, District Bharatpur, an ex-Sarpanch, has prayed for a direction to restrain the State-respondents Nos.1 to 6 from allotment of Araji Khasra Nos.3/.80 hectare, 4/1.55 hectare, 5/4.46 hectare, 6/1/3.72 hectare, 7/1/5.15 hectare, total 5 Rakba, area 15 hectare, 68 aier of land in village Mandal Patwari, Area Dheemari, Tehsil Pahadi, District Bharatpur, to the respondent Nos.7 to 13, or any other person, who is not residing in the area, or any institution. He has also prayed for a direction to the State-respondents Nos.1 to 6, to immediately take possession of the Government land, and to make its allotment to the needy persons of village Dheemari, Tehsil Pahadi, District Bharatpur, under the provisions of Rule 4 of the Rajasthan Agriculture Land Utilization Rules, 1958. The petitioner has also prayed for a direction to quash the order dated 11.10.2000(Annexure-3), passed by the then Revenue Minister, Government of Rajasthan, in a revision under Section 83 of the Land Revenue Act, 1956 (for short, 'the Act of 1956') and the consequential order dated 04.03.2005, passed by the Deputy Secretary, Revenue(Group-3) Department, Government of Rajasthan, by which in compliance of the Government Order dated 08.11.2000 and the letter of the District Collector, Bharatpur, dated 15.02.2005, orders were passed for regularization of possession of Shri Omprakash, Shakuntala Devi, Devendra Singh, Bala Devi, Satish Kumar, Manjeet Singh and Rajendra Singh under Rule 12, 17, 20 of the Rajasthan Land Revenue (Allotment of Land for Agricultural Purposes,) Rules, 1970 (for short, 'the Rules of 1970').
3. By D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.13881/2008, Shri Devendra Singh S/o Shri Omprakash, has prayed for directions to set aside the order passed by the Nayab Tehsildar, Pahadi, District Bharatpur, dated 02.04.2008, by which he has directed Shri Devendra Singh, the petitioner, and Shri Satish Kumar, both sons of late Shri Omprakash, to be evicted under Section 91 of the Act of 1956, from Arazi Khasra Nos.3/0.80, 4/1.55, 5/1/1.65, 6/1/3.40 and 7/1/4.34, total five plots, with an area of 11.74 hectare, and imposed a penalty of fifty times of the land revenue of Rs.17/-, which has been calculated at Rs.41,350/-, and has been paid by Shri Devendra Singh, for unauthorized possession of the plots. He has prayed for the refund of Rs.41,350/- with interest. The reliefs have been sought on the ground that possession of Shri Omprakash and his family members was regularized by the then Revenue Minister by her order dated 11.10.2000.
4. A reply has been filed by the State-respondents and the private respondents, in whose favour allotment of the land has been regularized.
5. Brief facts giving rise to the writ petition, are that the land, detailed as above, area 15 hectare, 68 aier, is a land belonging to the State Government, recorded as agriculture land, to be used for the purposes of agriculture in the 'Jamabandi' of Samvat 2059 to 2062. The land was continuously used for agricultural purposes, in which crops of wheat and mustard were grown. On 19.06.1963, the entire land, measuring 96.17 Bigha, entered as 'Siwai Chak' (Government land) for agricultural purposes, was allotted to a Agriculture Cooperative Society, Gopalgarh, Tehsil Pahadi, District Bharatpur. The Cooperative Society had 22 members, out of which 15 members left the Cooperative Society, and that only 7 members, who are the respondents in the writ petition, belonging to one family, were left. They continued to cultivate the land as individuals. The term of allotment for 25 years, came to an end on 18.06.1988. The land was never cultivated by the Cooperative Society, nor its accounts were maintained, or any statutory requirement of a Cooperative Society was complied with, and on which, the State Government passed an order,