The cancellation of long-standing water rights without a hearing violates principles of natural justice, necessitating fair process in administrative actions.

Order :

REKHA BORANA, J.

1. The brief facts as averred in the writ petitions are as under:

(i) The petitioner being an agriculturist of Chuk 11 KSP has 24 bighas of land out of which 22 bighas is command land and 2 bighas is uncommand.

(ii) However, the petitioner was getting the irrigation facility on the complete 24 bighas of land since the year 1987 i.e. from the time of his forefathers (Palaram, his grandfather).

(iii) In the year 2006, an order was passed by the State Government to the effect that all those agriculturists who had been sanctioned the water turn ¼ckjh½ on uncommand land between the year 1970 to 1995, would be entitled to get their land converted into command land. Despite the petitioner’s 2 bighas of land falling in the said category, it was not converted into command land.

(iv) A complaint was filed by private respondent No.5 qua the illegal water turn ¼ckjh½ granted to the petitioner qua his uncommand land of 2 bighas. On the said complaint been filed, an Enquiry Committee was constituted and on basis of the report of the said Committee, vide order dated 14.10.2022, the water turn ¼ckjh½ of the petitioner qua 2 kilas i.e. kila Nos.1 & 10 of stone No.155/312 was cancelled.

(v) Order dated 14.10.2022 been passed without affording any opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, he preferred an appeal before the Superintending Engineer, who, vide order dated 26.12.2022, remanded the matter back to the Executive Engineer to decide afresh after affording opportunity of hearing to the affected agriculturists.

(vi) After remand, a factual report was called for from the Assistant Engineer and relying upon the said report, vide order dated 21.07.2023, the Executive Engineer while maintaining the earlier order dated 14.10.2022, directed for cancellation of the water turn ¼ckjh½ of the petitioner and to distribute the same in the complete chuk.

(vii) Appeal as filed against order dated 21.07.2023 (Annexure-9) before the Superintending Engineer also stood dismissed vide order dated 04.12.2023 (Annexure-11).

(viii) Aggrieved of the above two orders, S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.19019/2023 has been filed.

(ix) Subsequent to passing of the above two orders, as a consequence thereof, the Chief Engineer vide order dated 23.01.2024 (Annexure-16), directed for cancellation of the nakka existing at kila Nos.1 & 2 of murabba No.155/312.

(x) In pursuance to the said order, the Executive Engineer, vide order dated 25.01.2024 (Annexure-17), cancelled the said nakka. (xi) Aggrieved of the above two orders, S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.17571/2024 has been filed.

2. Counsel for the petitioner submits that admittedly, the water turn ¼ckjh½ was issued in favour of the petitioner’s grandfather way back in the year 1987 and continued uninterrupted till the year 2022. There was no reason, whatsoever, to cancel the same and that too without affording any opportunity of hearing to him at the first instance. Interestingly, the Executive Engineer has vide order dated 21.07.2023 (Annexure-9), proceeded on to affirm order dated 14.10.2022 whereas the said order was already set aside and the matter was remanded to him to decide afresh. The same is clearly bad in the eyes of law.

3. Counsel further submits that 2 bighas of uncommand land of the petitioner deserved to be converted into command land in terms of order dated 06.01.2006 (Annexure-2) of the State Government but the same was erroneously not considered at that point of time. But admittedly, the irrigation facility in the said 2 bighas of land continued even subsequent to that. Therefor